


Things That Never Were

by mortenavida



Category: The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Alternate Reality, Canon Divergence - Post-Avengers (2012), M/M, Medical issues, Partial Mind Control, general confusion sometimes, intention historical mistakes, intentional continuity issues, intentional ooc in some instances
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-11
Updated: 2015-11-11
Packaged: 2018-05-01 01:43:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 22,994
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5187383
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mortenavida/pseuds/mortenavida
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>So this is what’s going on in Tony Stark’s life right now: he has a placement exam coming up so he can get into a good college and get out of his run-down life, he dreams every night of a beautiful void in space, senior prom is right around the corner, and his boyfriend is too much of a gentleman to take his virginity. Oh, and there might be an issue with some kind of terrorist orange, his boyfriend isn’t really his boyfriend, he’s actually a billionaire, and when the hell did he turn 40? Because he could have sworn that yesterday he was 17. Maybe? Things are pretty confusing right now.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Things That Never Were

**Author's Note:**

> Title taken from the Robert Kennedy quote: "There are those who look at things the way they are, and ask why... I dream of things that never were, and ask why not?" No sex scenes (but there are kissing-almost-leads-there ones) because if there were, Loki wouldn’t be a really stand-up guy and I don’t want to add a “dub-con” tag.
> 
> Link to art and story tumblr post at the end.

“I think I should be an astronaut,” Tony said as soon as the person on the other end of the line picked up.

After a pause, Loki sighed and answered, as gently as possible, with, “ _Could you please repeat that?_ ”

It wasn’t a frustrated sigh - that much Tony knew.  His best friend was used to his random statements and declarations - this was just to clarify that he had heard correctly. Really, Tony had no reason to repeat the statement since it was very obvious that Loki had heard him.  He would rather focus more on attempting to undo the knot he had stupidly tied his shoelaces into than repeat something.

“I had another one of those space dreams,” he said instead.  “You know, the one where it’s kind of beautiful and amazing?  I bet that’s what real space is like and I want to see it.”

“ _You don’t want to be an astronaut. You hate flying._ ”

“There’s a difference between flying and floating.  Floating is fun.”  Tony gave up and just shoved his foot into the shoe, wiggling the heel in.  “I think I want to float in space.”

“ _I thought you wanted to build race cars._ ”

“And then I’ll build spaceships.  What could go wrong?”  He glanced to the clock and grabbed his backpack. “Almost here?”

“ _I got stuck behind someone slow, but I should be there in a few minutes._ ”

“I’ll head down, then.  See you!”  He snapped the phone closed and shoved it in his pocket next to his pack of Juicy Fruit.  “Okay, books, pencils, notebook... I’m good.”

Getting out of the apartment he shared with his mom was always touch and go. Some mornings she would be passed out in her room or on the couch, but on other mornings she would still be awake and drinking her way past her problems. This morning, Tony counted to ten before he opened the door and slipped out of his room.  The door next to his - the door to his mom’s room - was cracked slightly and soft snores came from inside; he was lucky today, then.  He saluted the door and stopped by the kitchen for a pack of chips before leaving the shabby third-floor apartment.

Tony loved his mom, he really did, but things had been strained ever since his parents divorced.  Howard still ran his multi-billion dollar computer company and called Tony weekly to offer anything he could, but Tony knew he couldn’t accept any of it until he was out from under his mom’s roof.  She would never take - or let him take - any help from the man, and how she won the custody battle, Tony would never know.

Loki waited for him by the curb outside, leaning against the car like some kind of sin incarnate that Tony couldn’t get enough of.  He wasn’t sure when he started lusting after his best friend, but Loki had a pull to him that caught Tony completely.  Looking at his usual choice of tight black jeans and just barely loose green hoodie, Tony was sure that he couldn’t be the only one that daydreamed about him.

He thanked whatever god was listening that his boyfriend's natural personality state was “massive loner” and he didn’t bother gaining any more friends than Tony and another quiet kid named Clint. He wasn't sure he could take the competition.

“Was she awake?” Loki asked, opening the door of his two-door sedan for Tony to slip in.

“Not this morning.”  Tony shifted his feet around Loki’s backpack and then stuck his own in his lap.  “We still checking out that museum after school?”

“If you don’t mind.”  Loki shut the door and then went to his own side of the car.  “I also should remind you that you can’t build spaceships.”

“Conforming to the natural order of things is boring. I’ll build one.”  Tony reached for the radio as soon as the car turned on.

“You’re going to move to Russia, then?”

Tony hesitated.  “Move to Ru-oh.  Right, well maybe. Or maybe I’ll just build one and hope they don’t arrest me. Why should Russia be the only ones that can build them?”

“Because they reached space first.”  Loki pulled the car away from the curb and into traffic - Tony was always jealous of how seamlessly he did that.  “Besides, if you get arrested, who will be my roommate next year at college?”

“Clint?  You like him.”

“Perhaps.”  Loki smiled softly.  “I would rather it be you.  Someone has to keep an eye on you, after all.”

“Ha, ha. Just get to school already.”

“Always so demanding.”

The smile that stayed on Loki’s face warmed Tony’s heart and, not for the first time, he was glad he'd had the courage to ask the other out a few years before.

* * *

They weren’t supposed to see each other until after fifth period, but Tony wasn’t going to say no to the familiar arms that wrapped around his waist when he took his third-period locker break.  “Isn’t your class on the other side of the school?”

“Maybe.”  Loki rested his chin on Tony’s shoulder. “I had a question to ask you.”

Tony grinned but kept himself busy by looking for a textbook in his locker.  “What question was that?”

“Hm.”  Loki tightened his hold for a moment before letting go and leaning against the lockers beside Tony.  “There’s this dance in a few weeks.”

“Is there?” Tony asked, trying to look as if he didn’t already know.

“Yes.”  Loki reached up to trail his fingers down Tony’s cheek.  “And I want to take you.”

Tony shut his locker after pulling out his math book.  “I dunno.  Is that a question or a statement?”

Loki shook his head and leaned in, pressing a kiss to Tony’s cheek. “Wear red and gold. I enjoy those colors on you,” he said, moving to walk away

“Lamest prom invitation ever. I expected more from you, you know.”  Still, Tony couldn’t keep the grin off of his face.  “Loki?”

The taller boy stopped and turned back to look at him.  “Yes?”

“Love you.”

Loki’s smile eased and he went back, tilting Tony’s chin up for a proper kiss.  Like most of their school kisses, it was short, but it left Tony breathless.  Loki brushed his thumb across Tony’s cheek, then let go and disappeared down the hall.

Almost immediately after he lost sight of his boyfriend, another familiar (though this time unwelcome) hand came down on his shoulder.  Tony held back a sigh as the hand slid across his shoulder so the heavy arm of the school’s head wrestler could rest against him.  It wasn’t that Tony _hated_ the guy - he just didn’t appreciate being manhandled every single time Loki got out of his sight.

“Hey, Rhodes.”  Tony didn’t even try to dislodge the arm - he knew it wouldn’t work.  “Can you not use me as a crutch?”

“Hey Tony, hope you’re doing better today.”  James Rhodes, possibly the skinniest wrestler Tony ever knew, didn’t even look at him as they went through the hall.  “Steve should be here in a bit, I’m sure.”

Tony would never understand how Rhodes got to be the best on the team, but Steve was still the captain. They were in different weight classes and sure, neither ever lost a match, but for some reason Rhodes always ended up as the better player.  Neither of them, however, were all that kind to Tony. They mostly just talked over him to each other.

“Yo!”  Rhodes used his free hand to wave down the hall. “Steve, I got him!”

And then there was Steve Rogers.  Built like a brick house and there was no way the kid could only be seventeen, but there he was. Steve wasn't a bad guy, really. He was always smiling and usually defended the less-than-fortunate nerds - like Tony.  His hanging around just sometimes got old.

“Hey guys.  Thanks, Rhodes, but I got him from here.”  Steve took Rhodes’ place, then leaned close to Tony.  “Hey, I’m really sorry.”

Then there were the multitude of apologies.  No matter how many times Steve saw him in one day, he always greeted him with an apology; Tony had yet to figure out why.  Most of the time, he didn’t even bother answering - today was definitely one of those days.

“You’re still with Loki?” Steve asked when it was obvious Tony wasn’t going to say anything.  “To be honest, I didn’t think it would last this long.”

“Don’t say that.”  Rhodes reached over to shove lightly at Steve.  “It’s got to be doing some kind of good.”

Steve didn’t look convinced, but he did thankfully drop the subject.  “Think Hill will be back today?”

Rhodes shrugged and half-pushed Tony into the classroom. “Don’t know, man. She had to run errands for Fury yesterday, but she’s supposed to be back.”

Tony pulled out his textbook as soon as he took his seat, keeping his head down and hoping the two would get caught up in whatever they were talking about so they could just ignore him.  No such luck.

“I just hope she gives us some kind of break, right Tony?”  Steve sat next to him and leaned back in his desk.  “A vacation sounds nice.”

“Since when do you take vacations?” Rhodes asked, sitting on Tony’s opposite side.  For some reason, they did this every class.  “Everybody knows you can’t stop working.”

“Very funny.”

Tony let them bicker over his head about vacations and other things he didn’t care about.  He wasn't sure long they kept up the constant chatter, but they had to have done it all the way through math and into science because suddenly Clint was there, waving the two of them away.  Steve didn’t look happy, but he conceded and took Rhodes’ arm so they could leave the science lab.

“Finally.”  Clint let out a breath.  “I told them they’ve got to stop going on about nonsense around you, but they never listen.  It’s probably putting you to sleep.”

Tony shrugged.  “It’s fine.”

“You think they’d get tired of it eventually.”  Clint sprawled himself across the desk.  “Anyway, I’m going to the range later and you should totally get your butt up and join me.”

Though he was usually quiet around others, Clint was one of the best archers at the school.  So good that Tony was sure they started an archery club just to show him off - not that Clint seemed to mind all that much.  He didn’t really like all the attention, but he took it with as much patience as he could muster.  Which, if Tony were honest, was not a lot.

“Maybe next time?”  Tony gave him a smile and turned on their burner.

“One day, I’ll get you to go there,” Clint promised.  “One day.”

Tony seriously doubted it, but he could let Clint dream at least.

* * *

“I have to get a tux, don’t I?” Tony asked as he ignored the artifacts around them. He wasn’t as into Norse myth sculptures as Loki was, but he didn’t want to be rude about it. “For this dance thing you’re taking me to, I mean.”

Loki’s lips quirked just briefly before he slid an arm around Tony’s waist and leaned against him.  “I don’t know, I think I could see you in one of those backless dresses...”

Tony let himself think about it for only a minute (something light blue, maybe, that draped artfully over his shoulders and trailed down to rest right above his ass.  Just enough that Loki could be decent at the dance but slide his hand inside the dress easily enough after).  “No, I want a tux.  I think I can get one from Clint or Bruce, though.”

“I can get it for you.”

“I’m not a charity case.”  He pulled out of the embrace.  “I don’t need-”

“I know.”  Loki pulled Tony back, pressing a kiss to his cheek as he did so.  “I didn’t mean it like that, I just have a spare.”

Tony felt like an idiot - he should have known that Loki would have a few tuxes hanging around in his closet.  You couldn't be the son of a man as powerful as Odin without owning at least eight of them.  And while Loki might be adopted and he and Odin chose never to speak to one another - hell, Tony had never even met the man - it didn’t make him any less Odin’s son.

“Want to try it on, see if it fits you?”

Tony sighed and laced his fingers through Loki’s own.  “Yeah, might as well. If I have to get my own, I need to start saving now.”

“You’ll have enough.”  Loki tugged on Tony’s hand.  “Come on, let me see you in my clothes. I’ve waited long enough.”

“You just want me out of mine, don’t lie.”

“Hm, yes. You've caught me.”  Loki led Tony toward the door, past a group of kids.  “I’ve been waiting all this time for a school dance so that I might get you out of your clothes.”

“Don’t need a dance for that. Just ask.”

“What’s the fun in that?”  Loki paused and pointed to one of the kids, who was trailing after the rest of the group. “Looks like someone has the newest edition.”

Tony scoffed and pulled out his phone to see if his mom had called. “You and your comics.”

“The stories are fascinating, you should read them.”

“Look, if I wanted to read about Captain Flag--”

“America,” Loki corrected.

“Yeah, him. If I wanted to read about him and his friend Tonya, I would.”

“Out of all the people in comics, I thought you would know Tony the best considering you share his name.”  Loki pulled Tony out the door and toward the car. “I’ll have you know that he’s my favorite.”

“You must just like guys named Tony, then.”

“Perhaps.”  Loki opened the passenger door for Tony.  “Do you want to stop for some of that yogurt you like?”

Tony leaned over and kissed him.  “I knew there was a reason I loved you.”

Loki blushing was one of Tony’s favorite things to see, and he was glad he got to stare at the pink tint all the way to the yogurt place.

* * *

The suit fit him perfectly.  It was so perfect that Tony was sure Loki didn’t have it ‘just hanging around,’ especially considering they weren’t even close to being the same size.  But if his boyfriend was going this far to try to make him look good, Tony wasn’t going to look a gift horse in the mouth.  Might kiss said gift horse, though.  He turned to look at his backside in the mirror again, running a hand over the curve of his own ass.

“Are you done?” Loki asked from the other side of the bathroom door.  “I want to see if it fits you properly.”

Tony rolled his eyes. “I’m coming, Jesus.”  He brushed himself down, took a deep breath, and then opened the door just enough so he could lean on the frame.  “Hey, beautiful.”

Loki opened his mouth to say something, Tony was sure, but nothing came out.  Instead, Loki took his time looking over the crisp, three-piece tux.  The red shirt pressed just tight enough against Tony’s chest, a gold tie running over the buttons.  Sure, it probably wasn’t the best color combination, but Tony didn’t care - he loved it.

Loki took a step forward, reaching a hand out to Tony.  “You...”

“Am absolutely dashing in this, I know.”  Tony put an arm over his forehead, falling against the doorway. “I swoon over myself.”

And then Loki was on him, pressing Tony into the door frame with their faces inches apart.  Tony felt his heartbeat speed up, their breath mingling.  Loki had his eyes squeezed shut and he seemed to be holding himself back - from what, Tony wasn’t sure.  If it was the suit, he and Loki had a lot to talk about because hell yes Tony was all for wrinkling the tux.

“Loki?”

The whine that came from Loki was enough to push Tony forward.  He closed the distance between them and kissed Loki more than a little roughly.  Not that Loki seemed to mind; he growled low in his throat and then returned the kiss just as hard.  Tony pressed against him, shifting so he could get Loki between his legs.

As quickly as it started, though, Loki pushed away and put distance between them.  “I’m sorry,” he said, hand pressed over his mouth.  “I don’t know what came over me.”

Still hard and disorientated, Tony just whined a little and reached out for him.  “Loki...”

“No, no...We shouldn’t.”

Tony groaned and fisted his hands into the fabric of the jacket so he wouldn’t touch himself.  “Every time...”

“I just want--”

“To wait, I know.”  Tony looked to him.  “But come on. We’ve been together since we started high school. Four years isn’t enough?”

Loki frowned. “That isn’t--”

“I want my first time to be with you.  Here, in this crappy town where we met.”

The restraint Loki showed, even as he walked toward him, was almost a turn on.  Tony wanted to reach out, almost reached out, but held himself back from doing so.  Barely.

“I would have you elsewhere,” Loki said, putting his hands against the wall, trapping Tony against it.  “I would have you spread out across silken sheets with you beneath me and begging me.  Not here, not in this joke of a town, but in New York, maybe, or Malibu...”

Tony shuddered and closed his eyes.  “Loki, I swear if you don’t touch me--”

“Not yet.”  Loki did lean in and press a kiss to his cheek.  “Not yet. I want to make it special.” He pressed another kiss to Tony’s forehead, then stepped away. “We need to study.”

“I don’t think I can focus right now.”  Tony let himself slide down to the floor.  “This is brutal.”

“Believe me, you’d regret it if I did anything now.”  Loki put a fair bit of distance between them and sat down.  “Trust me.”

“Really? Because right now I’m regretting that you didn’t do anything.”

“Tony--”

The warning in Loki’s voice gave him pause. If Loki didn’t want to do this right now, Tony could do nothing to convince him. The last thing he wanted to do was force Loki into something too soon. “Okay, bring it on.”  Tony ran a hand over his face.  “Let’s get this started.”

Loki let the book open on his lap.  “All right.  A block of steel has a density of 0.29 pounds per cubic inch. If the block has dimensions of 1 inch by 1 inch by 3 inches, what is its weight?”

Tony sighed, closed his eyes, and focused as best he could on the questions.  Maybe on prom night he could convince Loki he was ready. Hopefully.

* * *

There was going to be no way of avoiding her today - the too-sweet smell of alcohol radiated through the apartment and into Tony’s bedroom even before he was fully awake.  He sent Loki a quick text and got dressed as quietly as he could.  Maybe, if he was lucky, he could sneak out the window and down the fire escape.  Maybe there was a way he wouldn’t have to see his mom today.

“Tony!” A cough followed the yell.  “Tony, I swear to God if you don’t get out and get to school...”

Or not.  “Coming, Ma!”  He grabbed his bag and took a breath before stepping out of his room.

His mother leaned against the doorway to the kitchen, a bottle of whiskey dangling from her fingers.  If she hadn’t let herself get so lost in the booze after Howard left, she could have been beautiful.  As it was, her clothes were constantly worn, her fingernails unkempt, and her skin too taut.  She looked closer to a druggie than an alcoholic, but for all Tony knew, she could be doing that as well. He sometimes felt sorry for her.

“How are you grades?” she asked before taking another swig from the bottle. “Keeping them up?”

“Of course.”

“Still friends with that fag?”

Tony winced, holding his bag tighter to himself. “Loki?  He’s my ride.”

“Don’t be riding him.”  She looked at the bottle in her hand. “I don’t need you to disappoint me any more than you have already. Stark men aren’t fairy men.”

“Yes, Ma.”

“Use him for what you need, then get rid of him.”  She tossed the bottle onto the pile of empty ones already in the overflowing recycling bin.  “No use in keeping that kind of company.”

Tony nodded and walked to the door.  “Yes, Ma.”

“And Tony?” she called once more, making him pause with the door partially open.  “Make me proud.”

Once the door closed, Tony all but ran downstairs and into Loki’s car.  Without a word, Loki drove two blocks before he stopped the car and let Tony lean against him. It was almost a ritual to do this when his mom was around in the morning - the comfort Tony found in Loki’s arms helped him feel grounded to the world in a way nothing else could. He had long ago stopped really caring what she said, but the words still struck deep.

Loki pressed a gentle kiss to the top of Tony’s head before gently easing him up. “The same?”

“The same.”  Tony let out a breath.  “I’m good.”

Loki knew better than to question him anymore.  He put the car in drive, then took Tony’s hand.  “I picked up your favorite coffee on the way over.”

Tony looked down to the cup holder, surprised. He hadn’t even felt the cups as he sprawled himself across the front seat earlier.  “You are a lifesaver. Have I told you I love you?”

Loki huffed out a breath, hand gripping tighter to Tony’s own.  “I could stand to hear it more.”

Tony leaned over and placed a wet kiss on Loki’s cheek. “I love you. Seriously, this made my morning.  This, and you, of course.”

“Of course.”

He just put the cup under his nose and breathed in.  It smelled perfect, still scalding hot despite however long it had been in the car.  Loki knew how to treat him right.

“I don’t see how you can drink it so hot.”  Loki frowned at him.  “Doesn’t that hurt?”

“Only in the good way.”  Tony downed half of it, welcoming the burn in the back of his throat.  “I want eight of these every morning.”

“No.”

“And maybe four in the afternoon.”  Tony grinned at Loki as they pulled up to the school.  “Please?”

“No.”  Loki said again as he parked. Once the car was off, he took the cup from Tony.  “Come on, we’re almost late.”

“The first bell hasn’t even gone off yet.”  Still, Tony got out of the car. “Can I have my cup back?”

“No.” Loki shut his door and leaned over the roof.  “Come on, you have your review today.”

Tony leaned over the roof instead of walking around, reaching for the cup. “Yes, and I need my nectar in order to pass it.”

“No you don’t.”  Still, Loki reached over the roof and let Tony take the cup back. “Now can we go?”

Tony closed his eyes and breathed in the coffee smell while Loki led him into the building, trusting his boyfriend not to let him run into anything or anybody.  They made it to his locker, at least, before someone did end up coming up to them.  Loki huffed out an annoyed breath before leaning against the lockers, giving both Steve and Rhodes a look.  Tony tried to ignore them, but, as usual, it was only a matter of seconds before Steve’s hand came down on his shoulder.

“Hey, pal, how you doing today?”

Rhodes snorted. “The same as always, I suspect. He’s got Loki watching him.”

“I haven’t forgotten that, Rhodes.”  Steve dropped his hand, frowning at him.

Rhodes put up his hands defensively. “Sorry, Cap, I know.  We’re just on a schedule and--”

“I know, this won’t take long.”  Steve turned back to Tony and the hand returned to his shoulder.  “I just wanted to say that I’m really sorry.  I was a really big dick to you earlier and I wasn’t aware of the circumstances between you and Howard at home.”

Tony looked to Loki, who shrugged, and then he realized that Steve must be talking about his dad.  Right, because he'd lived with him ever since his mom died.  “Life’s just peachy with him, it's fine.”

“And,” Steve continued as if he hadn’t heard Tony, “I just want to say that if you ever want to talk, I’m here.  I know it can’t be easy for you with everything else going on.”

“My dad’s always been a dick, Steve.”  Tony shrugged and grabbed his books. “Nothing new about that.”

“Are we done bonding?”  Rhodes motioned behind his shoulder.  “We have a meeting with Fury.”

“Yeah, we’re good.”  Steve squeezed Tony’s shoulder once before he let Rhodes drag him away.  “See you later!”

Tony rolled his eyes and nudged Loki.  “Come on. I don’t know why he keeps doing that.”

“Doing what?” Loki took Tony’s books to make drinking the rest of the coffee easier.  “Constantly showing up?”

“Constantly apologizing.  I mean, I get it, my dad isn’t the easiest person to live with, but at least it’s better than being alone.”  He frowned, staring at the lid of his cup. “Right?”

“Of course.  Not every parent is perfect.  Perhaps your mom was different.”

“Maybe.”  Tony couldn't really remember her, even when he tried – it had been so long since she passed.

As the bell rang for classes to begin, Tony shrugged off Steve’s apology (just another one to add to the list) and went to class.

* * *

“...And then once I pass the initial entrance exams for my engineering degree, I’m going to go back and apply for something in astrophysics as well.”  Tony had let the passenger seat in Loki’s car fall back so he would be stretched out, looking through the packet of papers the principal had given him.  “I’ll excel in both, of course, because I’ll take both of them to Russia to fly a ship--”

“Tony, they aren’t going to let you--”

“-or I’ll just build one here.”  Tony lowered the papers to his chest and glanced to Loki.  “We’re going to have a big backyard, right?  Maybe a spot for a grain silo?”

Tony saw the sigh that wanted to escape, but Loki just dropped his shoulders and gave him a small, barely there smile.  “Yes, of course. We aren’t going to put a rocket in the silo, though.”

“Course we are.”  He tossed the papers to the backseat beside his head and then sat up.  “What else would we put in there?”

“Grain?  A year ago you told me you wanted to be a farmer.”

“I... right, I did.”  Tony flopped back down in his seat.  “I changed my mind.  I’m not dreaming of cows, I’m dreaming of space.  That’s a sign.”

“I don’t like your signs.”  Loki’s hands gripped the wheel tighter.  “Are you sure you don’t just want to go to MIT and look into the military work? I hear they pay well...”

“You? Telling me not to follow my crazy dreams?  Who are you and what did you do with my boyfriend?”

“I’m just worried.”  Loki stopped the car and easily rolled out of the driver seat and over Tony.  “Space is dangerous. That’s why we don’t go there.  I just want you to stay safe.”

Tony reached up, sliding a hand across Loki’s cheek.  “I’ll be fine.”

“You can’t promise that.”

“Nobody can.”  He smiled, leaning up to give Loki a brief kiss.  “I will be as safe as I’m able, okay?  I swear.”

Loki did sigh then, shifting so he was all but covering Tony’s body with his own.  They were silent, Loki breathing in Tony while Tony ran his hands through Loki’s hair.  He wasn’t sure how to promise to be safe, but he sure as hell felt safe right here, stretched out in the reclined seat of Loki’s car.  Granted, they were right outside his apartment building and his dad could literally just poke his head out and see them, but Tony just didn’t care.  He wouldn’t give this up for anything.

“You should get some sleep,” Loki said eventually, moving off of Tony.  “You may have finished your review, but there are still the normal exams.”

“And prom.”

“Of course, I haven’t forgotten.”  Loki eased himself back into the driver’s seat.  “Go.”

“Yeah, yeah.”  Tony leaned over to kiss his cheek.  “Good night.”

“Good night, Tony.”

Tony left his things in the car, not wanting Howard to get at it since he had been in a mood that morning, and walked up to the apartment.  Tony hoped that if he just walked in, went straight to his room, then nothing would happen.  It worked sometimes, but not so much other times.

This was one of those times where his luck just didn’t hold out.  Tony froze after he opened the door, faced with Howard’s narrowed eyes.  He forced himself to step further into the apartment, letting the door shut behind him.  Howard continued to stare, so Tony took a chance in going to his room.

Two steps past his father and, “I thought I told you this morning to stay away from that fag.”

Tony shut his eyes.  “He’s just a friend.”

“I saw him all over you.”

“My shirt was stuck to something. He was helping me.”  Tony shrugged and continued to his room, feeling the anger build behind him.  “That’s all.”

“That is the biggest load of--” Tony shut his door and locked it.  “Anthony Stark, you open this door!”

Tony leaned against his door, sliding down until he sat in front of it.  Howard eventually got tired of yelling through the door, but it was only when he heard the slam of his father’s own bedroom door that Tony let himself sleep.

He dreamed of streets lined with explosions and Loki standing on top of a high tower, a cruel smile on his face.

* * *

The dreams came back every night, but that wasn’t the weirdest part of Tony’s weekend.  No, the weirdest part that he only saw Loki when he slept and his boyfriend was always standing over a burning city, a wicked smile on his face.  When Monday came and Tony ended up walking to school and then walking home, he knew something was wrong.

When Tuesday ended and Loki still hadn’t showed, Tony took the bus to his boyfriend’s house. Or at least he planned to, but he couldn’t remember where it was. Sure he had been there before, but all he could do this time was wander in circles around the park.

Loki didn’t pick up his phone, so on Wednesday Tony went to try and talk to someone.  Or he tried to, but nobody knew Loki.  Not his teachers, not the principal.  Steve and Rhodes were away on some athletic thing, and Clint must have lost his hearing aids because he walked right on by and didn’t react when Tony called out to him.

So really, when Friday came and he had no answers, Tony wasn’t all that into school or paying attention. Something was wrong, he could feel it. He was in panic mode and he couldn’t explain any of it.  He must have stood in front of his locker for a good thirty minutes before his math teacher came up, putting a hand on his shoulder.

“Mister Stark?”  Her voice, though right next to his ear, sounded so far off.  “Mister Stark, we need you to move if you can hear us.”

Tony stared at her, opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out.

“Mister Stark, this is very important.”

Tony shut his eyes to keep his vision from blurring on him.  Something was wrong.  Where was Loki?

“Mister Stark!”

Tony whimpered and the world spun.  He fell.  More people surrounded him and he whimpered, holding onto his head as they shouted at each other. Someone’s watch went off - the loud beeping almost just a constant high-pitched note in his ear.  He just wanted them to go away.  He wanted Loki, he wanted to know that he was okay.

“What’s going on?” Steve. But wasn't he out of town? What was going on?  “Tony?”

“Sir, I’m going to need you to leave the room.”

“Is he--”

“Please, let us take care of this. Wait outside.”

Tony whimpered and tried to reach out for Steve - he was at least someone familiar.  His arms refused to move and Tony could feel his breath stop.

“I’ll find Loki,” he heard Steve say, and then everything went black.

* * *

It wasn’t often Tony woke to the feeling of soft hands running down his back.  He smiled into his pillow and relaxed, letting out a soft sigh.  The hands gained a bit more pressure as the bed shifted - Tony knew exactly whose lips pressed against his shoulder a moment later.  Then Loki’s body gently eased onto his own and, for the first time in a week, Tony truly felt at peace.

“Where have you been?” he asked. He raised an arm to let Loki slide a hand against his stomach, putting the arm down only after Loki was more or less comfortable.

“You don’t remember?”  Loki kissed down Tony’s back.  “I told you when I brought you home that my father needed me this week.”

Tony didn’t remember anything about-- no, no he did. Right before Tony got out of Loki’s car, his boyfriend had called after him about needing to be gone a week and to not worry. Howard’s behavior must have just pushed it right out of his mind.  “Right, sorry. I forgot, I guess.”

“No worries.”  Loki paused his kisses to tighten his hold on Tony. “Clint told me you’ve been agitated.”

“I’ve been fine.”  Tony ran his fingers across Loki’s arm and pressed against his chest.  “Mostly fine. It’s been a weird week and I missed you.”

“I’m here now.”

For some reason, that made Tony feel safe.  Part of him still felt uneasy, but this was good for now.  He closed his eyes and drifted back to sleep to the sound of Loki’s soft humming.

Not that the feeling of comfort stayed long.  Loki acted strangely after that. Sure, their routine stayed the same, but there was also something different.  Loki’s attention seemed to be on everything but Tony, and when Tony finally got his boyfriend to look at him, Loki would smile and change the subject.  Frustratingly, Tony wouldn’t even notice the change until after Loki left to go to his own classes.

Rhodes had gotten some kind of scholarship while he and Steve were away, too, and had chosen to stay behind, so all Tony had for company was Steve and Clint - both of whom were too busy talking about their strategy for some game to pay attention to anything else.  It only took five minutes before Tony got bored of hearing them talk about how to carry deadweight bodies around during a military-esque escape - whatever game they were playing online, it sounded horrible.

“You can’t just unhook the machines and hope he survives,” Steve said one day.  “Especially since they’re keeping him alive and fed.”

Clint draped his arm over Tony’s shoulder. “Cap,” he said, “this is the future and not the 1930s.  We have portable equipment.”

“I still don’t see why we can’t just wake him up.”

“Something to do with his brain.”  Clint tapped Tony’s head for emphasis. “You can’t just pull the guy out of his induced coma without screwing something up.”

“Unless they’re lying about the progress he's making.”

Clint scrunched up his nose.  “There is something wrong with me believing in the guy more than you do.  Especially after what he put me through.”

“It’s not that, I just--”

“Steve, please.”  Clint pulled away from Tony.  “Just trust him.  All this mess? It will probably blow over anyway.”

Steve looked between Clint and Tony before sighing. “You’re probably right, I just...”

“I know.”  Clint tried a smile.  “Now go, don’t you have places to be?  I’ll stay with Tony.”

“Yeah, yeah.  See you later.”

Tony waited until Steve left before wrinkling his nose.  “I can take care of myself, thanks.”

Clint said nothing to that, which was fine with Tony.  They were just sitting around in the library, waiting for the study hall to be over with.  Tony had a book on nebulas in front of him, though he wasn’t paying that much attention to it.

“You’re coming to prom, right?” he asked after a few minutes went by.  “Not that you have to, but Loki and I are...”

Clint shrugged and put his arrow on the table. When he had gotten that, Tony wasn’t sure.  “Maybe, not sure.”

“We could all go together.”

“Nah.”  Clint was now polishing a bow.  Tony rubbed his eyes and it was gone, as was the arrow. Instead, Clint sat there in his chair, staring at the ceiling.  Christ, when was the last time he had a good night’s sleep?  “Dinner?”

“I’ll ask Loki...”  Tony shut his book.  “Speaking of Loki, I’m going to go find him.”

Clint waved to him. “Yeah thanks, Doc. I appreciate it.”

That wasn’t the most bizarre thing Clint had ever said to him, but it was still weird.  Tony stared at his friend for a minute before he grabbed the book and left.  Sleep.  He needed more sleep, and probably a different mattress.  Not that Howard would give him a better one, but maybe Loki could help him?  Tony could just sneak it into his house, maybe.  He was sure Loki wouldn’t care.

Loki, who was... again not where he should be.  Tony stared through the window of the classroom door, trying to find the familiar bored expression he’d seen Loki wear so often at school.  There wasn’t even an empty seat.

“What are you doing?”

Tony turned immediately and grinned at Loki, but Loki wasn’t looking at him.  Loki was looking to the side of him, at Clint.  How the...? Did he follow him?

“What’s it look like I’m doing?” Clint asked, an arrow in his hand again.

“Right. Yes, thank you.” Loki stepped closer to Tony and gently ran his hand over Tony’s forehead. Tony shut his eyes, leaning into the touch. “Hello, Anthony.”

Just like that, Tony relaxed.  Clint must have left, because he wasn’t around when Tony opened his eyes again.  “Where have you been?”

“Around.  Are you ready for tonight?”

Tony arched an eyebrow and leaned against the wall.  “I don’t know, am I?”

“I would hope so, since your tux is in my closet.”  Loki crowded into Tony’s space.  “After school, we’ll just go to my place and get ready.  Then we’ll go to the dance.”

“I think Clint mentioned something about dinner.”

Loki glanced to the side before he shook his head.  “We’ll have our own dinner.”

Tony grinned, tilting his head up for a quick kiss.  “Is that another way of saying sex, or...”

“You are truly impossible.” Loki ran his finger over Tony’s cheek.  “Prom sex is cheesy and I refuse to have that be our first time.”

“Fine, fine.”  Tony slid a hand across Loki’s side to wrap around his back.  “You want it to be special, I know. I get that.”

“Hm.”

“I love you.”  Tony leaned forward to kiss him again.  “Just want you to know.”

Loki let out a breath and rested their foreheads together, eyes closed.  “And I adore you.  Never change from this, please.”

“Why would I want to?”

“Promise me.  No matter what I might do in the future, promise me that you will--”

“Loki, seriously.  You’re freaking me out.”  Tony dropped the book in his hand so he could wrap both arms around Loki.  “Now and forever.  You have me.  No matter what happens.”

Something told Tony that Loki didn’t believe him, but there wasn’t much else he could do. Loki pressed a kiss to his cheek and stepped back.  “I must go for a moment.  I’ll see you after school by my car.”

“Yeah, as always.”

Loki gave Tony one last smile, and then he was gone.

* * *

_Tensions rise this evening as the terrorist now known as the Mandarin issues another threat to the Avengers. They claimed an earlier attack on a local mosque today, killing all but four inside. Included on the list of dead are fifteen children._

_As with the last claimed attacks, this one has come with a direct challenge.  S.H.I.E.L.D. has yet to give an answer as to whether they will step forward and put an end to this threat. This, of course, puts into question just how far they’re actually willing to go to protect us from threats such as this._

_There still has also been no work from them on the general health of a few of their members. After the Battle of New York, we were told two of their members needed excessive medical attention, though the actual whereabouts of any members are unknown. We can only hope that they are on their way back to health and ready to make this madness stop._

_More information on this developing story tonight._

* * *

 

Loki hadn’t said a word all night.  Not when they got to the car, not when they got to Loki’s place, not when Tony put on the suit, and not even after he shut the radio off to ignore the news.  Tony tried to get his boyfriend to talk, tried telling him jokes or insults, but nothing worked.  Every time Tony would look over, Loki was staring off into space, a small frown on his face. Maybe it was the news report that played at the start of their drive? No, why would he be that upset over something going on somewhere else? Despite what he had promised earlier, Tony was a little afraid that this was just one last date before a break up.  He wasn’t even sure what he would do if he wasn’t with Loki.

And as soon as that thought was in his head, it was hard to get rid of it.  The drive back to school grew uncomfortable to the point where Tony squirmed in his seat.  Something was wrong, but what?

“Loki?”  Nothing.  Tony cleared his throat. “Loki, hey.”

Loki blinked as if coming out of a daze and looked to him.  “What?”

“Did I do something wrong?”

“No, of course not.”  Loki pulled into a parking spot (when had they gotten to the school? Was he really that distracted?) and turned off the car.  “I’m sorry, I’ve been thinking.”

“A bit too much.”  Tony undid his seatbelt and turned to stare at him.  “First you go missing and now you’re being weird.  What’s happening?”

“Nothing.”

“When did you start lying to me?”  When Loki didn’t have an answer for that, Tony scowled and opened the door.  “Forget it.”

“Anthony--”

“I’ll see you inside.”  He slammed the car door shut, shoved his hands in his pockets, and started to zigzag through the cars.

“Wait a minute.”  Loki caught his arm, somehow already next to him.  Tony stared at where the car was (where it should have been?), and then back to Loki.  “Will you let me explain?”

Tony pulled away from him as fear crept into his system.  “What’s there to explain?  You won’t tell me what’s--”

“It’s complicated, that’s all.”  Loki cupped Tony’s cheeks and stepped closer.  “Please, trust me.”

“I do, but it’s just...”

“I know.”  Loki pressed a kiss to Tony’s forehead.  “I’ll explain it after tonight.”

“You know what usually comes after those words?”  Tony pulled Loki’s hands away from his face.  “A good fuck and a thanks.  What do you want from me?”

“Anthony--”

“What’s going on?”  Tony wrapped his arms around himself.  “You know I saw Clint cleaning arrows the other day.  Arrows, Loki.  I know he likes archery, but when did they start using real arrows?”

“Anthony--”

“And Rhodey?  Gone.  I asked somebody if he was coming to clean out his locker and they had no idea who I was talking about.  Just like nobody knew who you were the week you were gone. And then you weren’t in the classroom...”

“Please, let me--”

“And Steve!” Tony raised his voice to be heard over Loki, trying to hold onto his panic. “Either they don’t know him, or they won’t stop talking about the ‘nice man’ that comes to sit with me. Sit with me where?”

“If you just—“

“And now you’re keeping things from me.”  Tony shook his head.  “Just tell me what the fuck is happening.”

The devastation on Loki’s face was apparent, but Tony couldn’t give in.  He couldn’t just roll over for this.  Loki reached for him again, but Tony took a bigger step away from him.  His chest flared in pain and he winced but otherwise ignored it.

Why did everything smell so sterile?

“I have to wake you up,” Loki told him softly.  “I don’t want to, but I have to wake you up.”

“What?”

“This is a dream and I need--”

“No.” What the hell was going on?  “No, I’m going to my prom now.  We’ll talk about your creepy dream bullshit later, but not now.”

“Anthony, we have to--”

“Later, Loki.”  Tony took a few more steps back and turned around, almost right into the gym doors.  That couldn’t be right, but he would take it.

Without another word to his boyfriend (ex? no, he still loved Loki - it was crazy), Tony stepped inside and let the sudden beat of the music wash over him.  He pushed to the center of the room and just stood there, eyes closed.

“Get down!”

Clint’s panicked voice rose over the people still dancing.  Tony jerked around, eyes wide as a rumble went through the building.  On the other side of the gym, the ceiling cracked and fell to the floor. Still, nobody did anything - they just continued dancing. At least, most of them were dancing. The ones that did scream ran by him, their clothes fluidly shifting from elegant suits and gowns to hospital scrubs.  He shook his head to try and clear it, stumbling to the floor when someone ran into him.

He couldn’t cry out for help. He couldn’t even move.

Tony lay on a bed, IV drips extending from his arms.

No -- he was standing in the center of the gym, desperately holding onto the portable IV drip and his tux replaced with a partially open hospital gown.

Before he could panic, Loki appeared and blasted away a piece of falling concrete with some green substance that he shot out of his hands. Tony could have stared at it - at him - forever if Loki hadn’t taken his face into his hands.

“Focus,” Loki said, voice sharp, and Tony could suddenly do more than stand there and gape.

“Loki?”

“I’m here.” Loki’s thumbs stroked over his cheeks.  “But I need you to focus on me now.”

“We don’t have much time!”  Clint again. Where did he go? Did he come back?

“When did Clint get a bow?”

“Focus!”  Loki jerked Tony’s face back to him again. “Take a breath--”

“Loki, we need to get the fuck out of here!”

“--and hold on.”

Something inside Tony jerked, and he screamed.

* * *

Nothing felt right.  His legs were too long, his torso too thick, and something burned painfully in Tony’s chest.  He sucked in a breath, then tried to suck in another.  On his third try, he realized he was hyperventilating - an onset anxiety attack maybe? His arms must have been flailing about because he could see Loki’s own were waving around as he tried to catch them.

Loki looked fantastic in green leather. And was he taller?

“Calm, Stark.  Stark!  Anthony!”

Tony squeezed his eyes shut again as Loki finally managed to keep him still. He just wanted to go back to the stupid prom, back to the dancing and the promise of at least making out with his boyfriend after.  This wasn’t home.

“Loki...” God, even his voice sounded different. Not just because he was terrified, either.  “Loki, what...?”

“Shh...” Loki pulled Tony tight against his chest.  “I told them it was too soon. I knew this was a mistake.”

“What?”  He needed a new word.

“Hush.” Loki stroked a hand through Tony’s hair. “There is much to talk about, but you need to relax first.  Breathe, Anthony.”

Tony squeezed his eyes shut and focused on the in and out of Loki’s own breath.  Even as snippets of memories (they weren’t his, right? He’d never been to California) flashed through his mind, he was eventually able to calm himself to the point of normalcy.  Sort of.

“Are you well now?”

That was a loaded question.  Tony looked up at Loki, searching eyes that were both familiar and foreign.  There was so much more pain, so much more fear.  “Loki...”

“I need you to listen to me. And do not panic.”  Loki licked his lips and held tighter.  “I’m sorry.”

“What?”

“You are not seventeen, you are in your forties.”  Loki’s fingers moved into Tony’s hair, pressing their foreheads together again.  “You are the smart and talented inventor of so many wonderful things on Earth.  You help run a company that is leaps beyond anything else on this planet.  You save people every day that you breathe.”

“Loki, I don’t--”

Loki backed Tony against a wall.  “You have suits in your home, metal suits, that help you fend off cruel and dangerous men.  You have an artificial intelligence system that could rule the world at your whim if you wished.  You are more than what your father thinks of you. You are an Avenger. Remember the comics I tried to show you?  You are Iron Man.”

Tony sucked in a breath - the flashes of images were memories.  Building a robot. Meeting Rhodey (at MIT, not high school). His parents dying. Taking over Stark Industries. Pepper. Obie. A cave in Afghanistan. Iron Man. Vanko. Hammer. Coulson. Aliens in New York. Aliens... Loki. They were his. It was his army.

The only thing holding him up was the same man who attacked his home.

Tony whimpered, confused.

“It's okay, Anthony. Let me explain.”  Loki’s strained voice somehow made it through to him. “Please, let me explain.”

“I don’t--”

“That wasn’t me.”  Loki let them slide to the floor.  “I was being controlled, forced to act out as the cruel person you saw in New York.  Thor--” Asgardian, big, wields a hammer “--realized and came to me after the battle.  In order to repay the Earth for what I did to it, I have a list of tasks to do. A great list that I will gladly repay.”  Loki pressed a kiss to Tony’s forehead. “You were the first on the list. I was to save you.”

“Save me?”

“You were injured in the battle. You saw the void - that is why you dreamt of space.”

“Russian astronauts.”  Tony frowned, leaning his head back.  “Russians aren’t the only ones allowed in space.”

“A small lie to tell. I had to--”

“Had to?  What the hell happened?”

Loki sighed, pulling away slightly.  “The fall to Earth - listen and ask questions later. There's no time for anything else. The fall to Earth hurt you.  By the time Thor realized that I was not myself, you had already been unconscious for days.  He offered my help to heal your mind, but I couldn’t do it without you experiencing something.  The mind is a complex--”

“You put me back in high school?”

“Not technically.”  Loki stroked his fingers down Tony’s cheek.  “I encouraged your mind to dream, and that is what happened. You chose the location.”

Tony groaned, memories fighting for a place in his mind.  Rhodey had approached him for help with math homework once upon a time, right?  Or maybe that was Clint.  Shit, wait. “Why were you my--”

“Again, not my choice.  No, don’t look like that.  I meant to just be your friend, to guide you in your dream so you could heal.  I meant nothing more than that.”

Tony pushed Loki’s hands away so he could cover his own face.  “I don’t understand.”

“I tried to tell you no--”

“That week I thought you were leaving me for some Swedish chick?”  He hesitated.  “Or that was when the dream started?  So I imagined... Christ.”

Loki attempted a smile.  “Your mind was never dull, at least.”

“What about everybody else?  What... how could they talk to me? What the hell?  Clint? Steve? Rhodey?”

“What they said to you in the dream was what they said while in your hospital room.  Give or take a few things.”  Loki looked at his fingers, and although he tried to look unaffected, Tony could see the tenseness in his shoulders.  “It was difficult to adjust their conversations so that you would not hear the wrong thing, though they got better at it over time.  Barton was easier as I had already been in his mind and knew how he would speak.”

“And my mother? Or ... father, they kind of switched.”

“I had nothing to do with that.  Those were your own demons. But there's no time for explanations, Anthony.”  Loki took Tony’s face again.  “You are in California now and there is a man after you.  Let me further protect you.”

Tony swatted Loki’s hands away.  “Why?”

“Because despite it being a dream in your mind, being with you has been the best thing to happen to me in decades and I wish to get to know you better.  The real you.”

Tony groaned and stood, taking a few steps away once he got on his feet.  “So it’s selfish for you?”

“Partly,” Loki admitted.  “But if you wish to have no part of me, I will leave.”

“Good, then you should--”

“Once this man is taken care of.”  Loki stood, but he thankfully kept his distance.  “He runs a terrorist group. He is called the Mandarin.”

Tony snorted. “An orange?”

“This is far from humorous.”

“It’s hilarious.”  He needed information, but he didn’t want to ask Loki.  He didn’t want to - wait.  “Ah... Jarvis?”

Something in the walls hummed to life.  ‘ _Sir, it is good to hear your voice.  What can I do?_ ’

“Where is... everybody?”  Something in Loki’s face gave away his hurt that Tony didn’t ask him, but Tony chose to ignore it.

‘ _Miss Potts and Mister Hogan are still in New York, although they are boarding the jet as we speak.  Mister Barton is staying behind at the hospital with Miss Romanoff to assist in repairing the damages.  Captain Rogers is on a Top Secret mission for SHIELD.  Colonel Rhodes is conversing with the forces overseas_.’

“Right, okay.”  Tony took in a breath, letting it out slowly.  “Loki?”

He stepped forward.  “Yes, Anthony?  I know where this--”

“I need you to leave.”

Loki narrowed his eyes. “That is not--”

“Leave.”  Tony rubbed at his forehead, his memories warring for a place in his head.  He couldn’t work with Loki standing there, not after knowing how Loki’s kiss tasted.  Though did he even really know that, or was that part of the dream, too?

“Anthony, you need--”

“You don’t know what I need.”  Tony pointed to the door.  “Go.”

Loki stared at Tony for a long moment before he disappeared.

* * *

Even with his brain still jumbled from the sudden lurch into adulthood, it wasn’t that hard to get the hang of working with the system known as Jarvis. His Jarvis - he created it.  Once he started to mess around with the AI, Tony found that things came naturally to him.  He let himself get lost in a few episodes of Game of Thrones on double speed before deciding that he couldn’t just sit around and watch fictional problems to cure his own.  It was fun, but it wouldn’t solve anything.

“Jarvis, do a scan on me,” he said, standing in the center of a lab.  It was high-tech - six Iron Man suits standing around with another one that looked to be in the works.  He recognized the destroyed pieces of the Mark VII as well off to the side, dings and burns still there from the battle in New York.

‘ _A complete medical scan has already been processed, sir, as per the post-Expo Protocol set forth by Miss Potts_.’

Right, after he hid from her that he was dying.  Of course. They'd been dating before New York, hadn't they? Were they still dating?  “And?”

‘ _And she is pulling up with Mister Hogan at this moment. Would you like me to wait until they arrive to give out the report?_ ’

“No, just... put it on the screen.  Send them down.”  Tony ran a hand through his hair.  “And order food. Is pizza good? Of course pizza should be good.”

‘ _Yes, sir._ ’

Tony sat down in the center of the room and stared at his projected medical status, though he really didn’t read what was there.  He could see that Jarvis thought he should sleep more, but Tony wasn’t sure if that was all that smart at the moment.  He would dream if he slept, and if he dreamed, then how would he know what was real when he woke up?  Part of him still wasn’t convinced this was real - it felt just like high school with Loki.  Did Rhodey even play sports once upon a time?  Did Steve? No, Rogers was a skinny kid, right?

 He needed a spinning top or something like this - like _Inception_.

“Shit...”

“Tony?”  The door slid open and Pepper half ran in, her bare feet lightly slapping on the floor.  “Oh god, Tony.”  She stopped in front of him, tilting his head up so he could look at her.  She was still beautiful.  “Jarvis told me you were fine, all things considered, but...”

He tried a smile, letting her move his head around to check for injuries.  “Hey, Pep.”

“Did he hurt you? Did Loki hurt you?”

“What?”  He leaned his head away and looked toward the door, watching as Happy took his time in following her into the room.  “You know about Loki?”

“Of course, he’s the one that’s been helping you.”  Pepper pulled a chair closer so she could sit in front of him.  Then she repeated her question. “Did he hurt you?”

“No?”  Did he?  Tony knew there was nothing physical, but emotional? Could he explain that, or was he not even hurt by that?  “When did you get on his side?”

“Pepper had a small panic attack at the hospital,” Happy explained.  “Everybody was arguing about whether or not he could help with what you might be going through, she couldn’t get her breathing under control, and he just...”

“It was just a touch.”  Pepper took Tony’s hand and squeezed it. “It was just a touch, but it felt like everything was taken care of at once.  That’s when I knew.”

“He’s a psycho who--”

“No, really.”  Pepper squeezed his hand.  “He explained everything.”

Tony pulled his hands away from her, frowning.  “Did he say what he was going to do? Did he tell you that he was going to create a fake reality in my head and make me think I was living a different life?”

“Tony--”

“Did he tell you that he was going to help me study for a fake test while telling me about a fake future we could have together?  Did he tell you... did he...”

Pepper reached for his hands again, taking them into her own.  “Yes,” she said, voice quiet.  “One of his conditions was that he had to tell Thor and me exactly what was going on.  I’m not angry--”

“Why the hell not?”  Tony looked to Happy, desperate. “What the hell?”

Happy shrugged, staring down at his feet.  “Even after the first day, the doctors could see improvement in your...” he motioned around his head. “Look, I don’t understand most of this stuff.”

“It was more than just you, Tony.  We need you.”

He snorted, pulling his hands away again before pushing his chair back. “Inflating my ego?”

“No, I mean it.  There’s something bigger coming.”  Pepper stood and went to a screen.  “Jarvis, pull the screen down.”

“Jarvis don’t pull-- okay, you pulled the screen down.”  Tony rubbed at his face, way too tired for this bullshit.  “What am I looking at?”

“His name is Thanos.”  A shudder went down Tony’s back at the name. Pepper continued as if she didn’t notice.  “He was the one who manipulated Loki into coming here, and, since Loki failed, he’ll be following.  We don’t know when.”

“Okay, so I’m awake now because of an orange, but you apparently need me sane for this guy.”  Tony looked between them, frowning.  “You do realize that I still think I’m seventeen sometimes, right?  Are you serious?”

“There was no choice,” Happy explained. “The Mandarin found out you were at the hospital but unconscious and he--”

“Tony, he openly said that he would find you and make you pay for the damage you caused.”  Pepper moved her hand across the screen and a new image of a bearded man came up.  “He threatened a few others, but he called you out several times.”

“And nobody thought to take me out of the hospital until now?”

They looked at each other, but it was Pepper who eventually answered. “Loki spent the past few weeks demanding that he be allowed to take you to a secure location. SHIELD refused.”

Tony swore, turning to punch his desk.  The glass cracked and it hurt like hell, but it was a good hurt.  He needed this hurt to keep him focused.  “And you?”

“Tony--”

“Never mind.”  He sat down slowly.  “I want to be alone.”

“Are you--”

“Alone, Pepper.  Thank you, but I... I need to figure stuff out.”

“Okay.”  She rested a hand on his shoulder briefly before walking away.  “We’ll be at the office, but don’t hesitate to call us if there’s anything you need, okay?”

Tony didn’t answer and, after a few moments, he heard the door finally close.

* * *

There were aliens at prom.  Some were running around, slaughtering the newly crowned King and Queen, but others had taken human partners and were twirling them around the dance floor.  Tony stood in the middle of it, unsure of what he should be doing with it all.  On one hand, literally, he wore an Iron Man gauntlet, and in the other hand he held his test scores for the placement exam.

Except placement exams didn’t really happen here.  So then it wasn’t there -- instead it was a rose.  And when Tony looked up again, there were no aliens, just Loki.  Loki in his three-piece suit with that smile Tony loved.  Loki stepped closer and reached a hand out -- Tony didn’t even hesitate before taking it.

“Sir,” Loki said, pulling Tony closer.  “Sir, Mister Rhodes is here.”

“What?”  Tony frowned, stepping back.  “Loki?”

“Sir?”

“I don’t--”

Loki leaned close to his ear and whispered, “Wake up, Anthony.”

Tony jerked back and promptly fell off the chair he had been sitting on in the middle of his lab.  He groaned and put his hands over his face.  This wasn’t in the plans today -- not to fall asleep and definitely not to fucking dream. Was Loki even there?  Jarvis didn’t call him anything but sir, and only Loki called him Anthony.  But it was just a dream - nobody else was with him in the lab.

“Let him down,” Tony said quietly, not caring anymore who was actually at the door.  Whoever it was could keep him awake. Maybe. Hopefully.

Instead of the main door opening, the hanger opened and a suit came inside.  Tony recognized what should have been the War Machine, but it had been painted in gaudy, patriotic colors.  This had to still be a dream - and there was no way he was going to believe that.  Even after Rhodey popped open the suit and stepped out.

“Wow, man, you look like shit.”

Tony flipped him off and let himself fall back onto the floor.  “So does my suit. What did you do?”

“Orders from higher up, I’m afraid.  Apparently War Machine didn’t sound too inviting.”

He snorted, closing his eyes.  “The suit isn’t supposed to look inviting.”

Rhodey laughed and got himself settled on the floor next to Tony.  “I tried to get them not to do it, but they were persuasive.”

“As in...”

“They painted it overnight when I wasn’t there and then leaked the images to the press before I could get them to change it back.  Didn’t see a point in fighting it after that.”

“Great.”  Tony tilted his head to look at the suit, then grinned. “We can paint it right now...”

“Don’t get any ideas, you just woke up.”  Rhodey turned onto his side to look at Tony easier.  “I’m glad you’re okay.”

“I’m glad you came to visit me.  Though I've got to ask... Why did you come with Cap?”

“Loki tell you that?”

“I remember it.”  Tony shut his eyes again.  “He said every conversation that happened around me, I heard.  And that bled into whatever it was I was dreaming.  You and Cap seemed pretty close...”

“I was his shadow when he came to see you and for the military base.  The guy learns fast, let me tell you.”

“How about you don't? No offense to Spangles, but I don’t care.”

Rhodey was quiet a moment, then he sighed and flopped onto his back again.  “I don’t know, I think you’d like him. You’re both stubborn and you care too much.”

Tony ignored him. “You didn’t come down here for a heart-to-heart.”

“Those tend to involve you dying, so no. I swore off those.”  Rhodey sat up.  “Jarvis, bring down what we gathered on the Mandarin?”

Tony groaned and covered his face. “I am so tired with this orange talk,” he said, even as he heard a few screens flicker to life. “Can you just give me the short version?”

“That’s all I got because we don’t have much on him.”  Rhodey sighed.  “Terrorist group using the Ten Rings logo, called you out specifically, and we can’t trace where they’re uploading the signal.  Jarvis is trying, but there are parameters he isn’t seeing.”

“Just... leave it. I’ll get to it.”

“Tony, this isn’t something you can just brush off.”

“I’ll get to it.”  Tony uncovered his eyes and gave Rhodey his best smile. “I just want to let my brain catch up for a few hours, and I swear I’ll get right into it.”

Rhodey’s watch beeped and he looked it with a frown.  “Not like I have a choice...”

“A location?”

“Possibly.”  He stood and brushed off his pants. “I’ll keep you updated.”

“You’ll wear a tracker is what you’ll do.”  Tony stared at the hand that was offered to him.  He gave a more genuine smile and took it, letting Rhodey pull him up.  “Please?”

“Sure, pal. You know the suit has one now, right?”

“I still can’t get over that god-awful flag? Rhodey, come on, what really happened?”

Rhodey held up his hands, walking to the suit. “You were out, AIM took over as our new weapons dealer, and they did a major rehaul.  Sorry, man. Get some sleep.”

“Okay, but we’re going to talk about this when you get back.  My suit, my color choice.”

“Ah huh.”  Rhodey got into the suit. “I’m not doing pink and yellow.”

“Oh come on, they were perfect for you!”

“Bye, Tony!”

Tony stepped back as Rhodey took off in the suit, shaking his head.  The colors weren’t bad, he supposed, but they were too flashy.  He pointedly ignored his own choice in color scheme.

* * *

Despite what he told Rhodey, Tony was not going to sleep.  Not now, probably not in the future -- maybe not ever, if he could help it. He could invent something for that, right?  Red Bull injections or something.  That would definitely work for at least a week.  That way there would be no dreams or anything to mess with his mind.

Instead there would just be hallucinations. Or no, Loki standing in the doorway probably wasn’t a hallucination - especially since he had a large box in his hands that Tony had never seen before.  So that meant he had to be dreaming again. Right?

“That is the worst prom corsage I have seen in my life,” he said. “I haven’t really seen it yet, but if it’s in something that big? It’s not good. Take it back and--”

“Oh shut up, Anthony. You aren’t dreaming.” Loki dropped the box on the nearest surface. “This is for you, but not like that.”

“Great, thanks. You can go now.”

“I’m not finished yet.” Loki took a seat on one of the stools - he even made that look elegant, the fucker. “You aren’t prepared for this world anymore.”

“Of course I’m prepared. I am--”

“Your last math exam came back with a failing grade.”

Tony dropped the wrench he was holding, ignoring the clatter it made as it hit the floor. “Miss Carver always had it out for me, I swear. There’s no way I failed that test! I mean sure, I didn’t study that much for it, but I did enough to know that there is no way in hell that--” He stopped, staring at Loki. “Oh.  Oh _shit_.”

“Sit down, Anth--”

“Don’t call me that.”

Loki flinched as if he'd been slapped and Tony tried not to feel guilty about that. “I apologize, Stark. Please, sit down and let’s talk about this. I can still help.”

“What if I don’t want your help?”

“If that is truly what you want, I’ll leave you be.”

“Thought you said that last time.”

Loki frowned and continued as if he hadn’t heard. “I can’t, after all, force you to heal properly.” Loki twirled his hand in the air, bringing up an image of the high school. “Was this yours before?”

Tony wasn’t even sure, so he didn’t answer. On the one hand, it could be the high school he went to as a pre-teen, but that was years ago. On the other hand, it did kind of look like the school from _Grease_. He said nothing, waiting for Loki to speak instead.

“I did enjoy it, building it from your memories. Though maybe we should have tried for a college atmosphere. No parents or curfew in that.”

“My parents are dead.”

“Which is probably why they switched all the time.” Loki waved away the image. “Though I think they kept only traits from one of them.”

A blend of his parents came to mind – his mom leaning against the wall with his father’s facial hair and a glass of scotch in each hand. Yeah, no. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Fair enough.” Loki reached toward Tony, but stopped when Tony put more distance between them. “Whatever happened in there to you, it was real in a sense.”

“How? You controlled everything.”

“I do not control your feelings.” Loki looked down at his hands, fingers flexing. “Perhaps it is not me that you are truly so in love with, but it is someone.”

Pepper, right? It had to be Pepper. But then why wasn’t Pepper anywhere in his dream?  Hadn’t he asked himself that before? Tony rubbed at his face. “This is so fucked up, I hope you know that.”

“And we will get nowhere if I try to explain this to you every time I try to help with the current problem.” Loki pointed to the box. “I know you are busy, so I made sure that you had all the information you'd need."

"What are you talking about?"

"The Mandarin, An... Stark." Loki stood and went to the box, sliding his hand over it.  "The man who tried to kill you."

"I don't need this right now.  I don't need this and I don't need you."

Loki frowned, removing his hand from the box. "I know."

"So why are you still here?” Tony waved him off. “Take your box and go."

Loki pulled away from the box, not looking to Tony. "I only--"

"Was Barton not good enough as a mind slave?” He should stop. Tony _knew_ he should stop. “Did you really need to add me to your list of zombies? Leave me the hell alone, Loki."

"As you wish." Loki stepped away from the box and disappeared, leaving Tony alone in the lab.

* * *

_At 6:57 this evening outside of the historic Chinese Theatre, an explosion occurred, injuring fifteen and killing eight. Among the injured is Stark Industries' head of personal security, Harold "Happy" Hogan. We are currently waiting for a response from Tony Stark himself as this seems to be another attack from the terrorist known as The Mandarin._

_So far, the only official word made on Stark's behalf is “no comment.”_

_We will bring you an update on this developing story as soon as we can. Please stay up-to-date by following our Twitter or liking us on Facebook._

* * *

Tony stared at the screen in front of him, feeling more like his high school self than his Avenger persona. Happy, who wasn’t even in his dream world, was hurt and he-- he couldn't do anything.  He sat in his dark house, knees pulled up to his chest (and damn that hurt too, with the reactor, but it kept him grounded), and tried not to give into the incredible, ridiculous urge to cry.

“Jarvis?” he asked quietly into the room, hoping that this was just a dream and his AI wouldn’t answer.

‘ _Yes, sir._ ’

No luck, then. Tony forced himself to stand and not be such a coward. He was an Avenger, he was Iron Man, and he could do this.  “Where did they take him?”

An address to a hospital pulled up on the screen, followed by a room number and a pre-designated landing area for the suit. He had been to this one enough times from suit-related injuries that they gave in and just put a small landing pad on the roof for him. Next to it was a secure hideaway for the suit, which Tony always appreciated.

“Thanks. Oh, and make sure all the victims get what they need, okay? They don't deserve this. None of them do.”

Not for the first time, he thanked himself for giving Pepper control of the company. Sure, she would have taken over once he went into his dream world, but that would have been a harsh transition that the company really couldn’t afford. Not between clean-up efforts in New York and still getting on a steady path with their product, at least. Thinking back, closing down the weapons facilities completely had been a hasty decision and there were days he regretted it, but there would be no changing it now. Pepper took care of things fine either way.

‘ _Noted, sir. Anything else?_ ’

“Just the suit.”

‘ _The Mark VII is still in repairs, but the Mark VI is ready for you, sir._ ’

“Thanks.” Tony took a breath, then got up to go clean himself off before he went to the hospital. If he spent a little longer in the bathroom than usual, well, nobody would really notice.

Once he got the helmet on and the HUD going, he let out a breath and had Jarvis put Happy’s vitals on the screen. While his friend didn’t look too bad from the readings, Tony knew things could change quickly.

As he came in close to the roof of the hospital, Tony saw a SHIELD agent waiting for him by the landing pad. He didn’t exactly want an escort, but he knew the reasons behind it. Holding back a sigh, he touched down into his spot and let the suit fold off of him.

“Mister Stark, my name is Agent Tripp,” the man said, motioning toward the roof door. “I’m to escort you to--”

“Thanks, but I got it.” Tony waved him off. “Seriously, just... watch the suit or something. I’d like to be alone with my friend.”

Agent Tripp hesitated for a moment, but he did eventually move out of the way. “Of course. I made sure the way was secure and we’ve been running--”

“So have I, thanks.”  Security checks were nice, but they were most likely just basic ones so nothing interrupted the hospital. What good was that?  “I, ah... I appreciate it, though.”

“Anytime, sir.” Agent Tripp went back to a parade rest, looking across the rooftop.

Tony left him and quickly went into the hospital. It didn’t take long to find Happy and slip into the room when nobody was paying attention. He should go back to the Agent and complain about the lack of security here, honestly. Everybody knew who Happy was to Tony - he was a target here. He wished he had a suit that could just stand guard. He probably already promised Pepper he would never make a sentient suit, but what choice did he have? He couldn’t protect his friends all the time - they would go crazy just as much as he would. Or maybe he could build a suit for Happy? Maybe Pepper would want one. No, Pepper should have one. There was no room for arguing.

After looking over the mass of bruises and bandages that was his friend, Tony knew that he had to make the new suits as soon as he got home. Maybe even copy the Mark VII design so they could call it to them. That worked well enough when Loki tossed him out a window. (Loki didn’t mean to do it, though, right? No, maybe he did.)

He settled into the chair next to Happy’s bed and stared at the television.  There was a marathon on of Downton Abby and Tony wondered if that was Jarvis’ doing or if that was just what happened to be on. He knew Happy recorded the show when it was on so he could watch it later.

Tony must have drifted off to the show because he jerked awake when someone put a hand on his shoulder. Captain America put a finger up to his lips before sitting in a chair across from Tony and giving him a smile. The chair squeaked a bit under him and they both looked over to make sure Happy was still sleeping.

“I didn’t mean to scare you,” Steve said once they faced each other again. “I wanted to see how you were.”

There were so many different ways to tell him off, but Tony didn’t have the motivation for it. He settled with something simple. “Just peachy.”

“I’m sure.” Steve rubbed his chin and leaned back in the chair, wincing as it made more noise under him. “You’ve had a rough day. I can keep watch while you rest.”

“Why? I got it. I’m--”

“Jarvis forwarded me your security reminder. I’m surprised there aren’t agents here, to be honest.”  Steve pulled back the blinds to glance out the window. “Makes me uncomfortable.”

“So you volunteered?” Tony snorted. “Didn’t think you had it in you. Besides, there’s one on the roof.”

“I’m trying to help.” Steve shut the blinds. “I think we got off on the wrong foot on the Helicarrier and I’d like to start over.”

“I’m not Howard,” Tony reminded him.

Steve let out a laugh and shook his head. “God, I hope you aren’t. Pepper told me how he was with you and Jarvis confirmed it. I’m sorry you had to go through that.”

“Life experiences, Cap, that’s all.”

“That’s no excuse.”

The last thing Tony wanted was a heart-to-heart about his dad. He wrinkled his nose and stood up. “You volunteered to stay, so okay. Stay. I’m going to go home and... work or something. Yeah. I have work to do.”

“Go home and sleep, Tony. Did you fly here?”

He hesitated at the name, not sure it felt right coming from Steve, but he figured it wasn’t worth arguing about. Tony was his name, after all. “...Maybe?”

Steve shook his head. “Let me call Clint. He can get you in a car. Promise me you’ll sleep when you get back?”

Tony wrinkled his nose, feeling like a child. “Maybe later.”

“Sleep,” Steve said again, texting as Tony walked out.

He stopped by the roof first and, while it was tempting to just climb in the suit and fly out, he felt weird breaking that promise to Steve. Instead, he set it on auto pilot and watched Jarvis fly it off of the roof. (He could have been inside - was that breaking his promise?) Tripp arched an eyebrow, but thankfully said nothing as Tony turned around and went down the stairs to the first floor.

Passing out in his bed sounded like a great idea, but passing out meant that he might go back to the dream. It shouldn’t be possible, but he might. And if he was honest with himself, that was all he wanted to go - go back to that ridiculous high school and dance with Loki at prom and go to college and just be normal.

His life was so messed up if he considered a life he was only dreaming about normal.

Still, it was certainly better than the pack of reporters outside the hospital entrance -- he should have just taken the damn suit. Tony put his sunglasses on and hoped, prayed, that they wouldn’t notice him before he got to a familiar-looking car close by (of course Clint would take one of his). It was a ridiculous prayer, but he needed something. He needed some kind of control over something. Anything, really. He would take control over anything.

Especially considering he couldn’t even control the mob closing in on him. Questions came from all sides just as Clint pulled the car closer – as close as possible considering Tony what was in the middle of.  He clenched his fingers, wishing he could get a hold of this, make them go away.

“Mister Stark!” A rather nosey reporter shoved his way closer. “When is somebody going to kill this guy?”

And he could. Tony stopped at his car door and turned to the reporters. He could control this.

The reporter shrugged at him, shoved his cheap smartphone closer. “I’m just saying.”

He could control this. “Is that what you want?” he asked, taking off his glasses. “Here's a little greeting I want to send to the Mandarin. My name is Tony Stark and I'm not afraid of you.” He was terrified and Loki was going to kill him if he survived this. “I know you're a coward, so I decided that you just died, pal. There's no politics here, it's just good old-fashioned revenge. It's just you and me.” And his suits. Maybe he should build another one? “On the off-chance you're a man, here's my home address: 10880 Malibu Point, 90265. I'll leave the door unlocked.”

And there it was: control. Tony took the reporter's phone and threw it as hard as he could against the nearest post. The reporter didn’t even look upset, the asshole. Tony narrowed his eyes and swatted a few other cameras out of the way before wrenching his car door open.

The guy would probably bill him and Tony didn’t even care. There were times he actually liked reporters, but this? This was not one of those times.

* * *

"Are you a moron?" Clint asked once they were clear of the hospital. "No, never mind. Don't answer that because I already know. But seriously, what the hell?"

Tony just leaned his head against the window, eyes squeezed shut. "Can I just go home now?"

"Hell no! You can't go to your--"

"Barton, please. I will jump out and walk if you-"

"You are not!"

Tony shrugged and went to open the car door. Clint swore and swerved the car, trying to reach over to close it.

"Damnit, Tony!" He got the car straight. “You’re barely awake a few days and already you’re trying to kill yourself?”

Tony rubbed his eyes, leaning back in the seat. “I really could do without the lecture, you know. So enough of that and just… drive. Back to my house.”

“I thought I said—“

“I need to get some information from Jarvis and I can only do that at home.”

Clint let out a breath. “Fine. Fine, we’ll go back to the house and get some stuff and leave. SHIELD is already on their way.”

“Agreed, fine.”

They were silent the rest of the way to the house, though Clint’s driving was a little more erratic than Tony expected. He was sure it was his fault somehow. Lack of concern for his health or whatever. (Loki would have cornered him in the hall by now, demanded to know what he was doing and why. But this wasn’t high school. _Loki wasn’t his_.)

“We’re here,” Clint said, dragging Tony out of his ridiculous thoughts about a man he didn’t know what to do with. “You have ten minutes.”

“You can just leave. I can drive myself—“

“ _Tony_.”

“I mean it, Barton.”  He glanced toward the house, frowning. “I think I’ll be fine.”

Clint sighed and gripped the wheel tighter. He looked at the house himself and shook his head. "You know I'm only leaving you here because we both know he's around."

That was the last thing Tony want to hear (even if it was true). "Save it."

“Saving it. Go then, try not to piss him off.”

“Don’t wreck my car.” Tony got out and shut the door behind him.

* * *

When he stepped back into the house, the last thing he expected was to be met with a bag falling to the floor in front of him from the upstairs landing.  He stared at it, then stepped forward and looked up just as Pepper tossed another bag down. She stared at him for a second before scoffing and going back toward the bedroom.

“Pep? Mind explaining what you’re doing?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” she called back.

It was, but Tony really didn’t want to think about the packed bags. “I have work to do here! I need to do something more than just sit around and--”

“We are leaving, Tony. A SHIELD agent already called and they’re setting up a safehouse for us.”

“Yeah, I know.”

Pepper tossed another bag down before coming down the stairs.  “Are you out of your mind?”

“I might be, but that was obvious a while ago.” Tony kicked at the bags, hands in his pockets.  “I doubt anything will happen. Most of these guys are cowards.”

“You don’t know that.”

“Pepper--”

“No.  We are leaving, go to the lab and get what you need. I’ve already backed up Jarvis, so you don’t need to worry about that.” Pepper pushed him toward the stairs that led to the lab. “Go. Now.”

He sighed and turned back to her. “Look, let me just check out a few things first.”

She crossed her arms, eyes narrowing. “You have until SHIELD arrives and then we’re leaving. I don’t care if I have to get into a suit and drag you out myself.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Tony gave her a small salute and wasted no time in getting down to his lab. If he had any hope of finding something before he would lose most of Jarvis’ interface, he would need to work fast. His backup files that Pepper probably grabbed were the basics, the bare minimum that he would need to rebuild.

There was a presence of something... off in the room. Tony glanced toward the far corner, where Dum-E was jerking his arm up and down at nothing, and let out a breath. Of course.  Well, if Loki wanted to sit in the corner of his lab like a toddler and stare at him? That was fine. As long as the god didn’t reveal himself in any way. Tony could do his research, Loki could watch silently, and life would move on.

Or something.

Either way, Tony decided to ignore the creepy feeling that made its way down the back of his neck and instead focused on the task at hand - finding out about the newest Big Bad. He sat down in his chair and shut his eyes, stretching his arms up to crack his back a bit. It would be just like doing a research paper, nothing more. He could do that.

Somehow, he wasn’t surprised when he opened his eyes and saw the box Loki left him just sitting on the desk in front of him instead of across the lab where he'd left it. He shook his head but figured that he might as well take all the help he was offered, even if all he could do was scan everything onto one of Jarvis’ servers to look at it later. He fanned out the papers so Jarvis could do just that and then leaned back in the chair to stare at the ceiling.

“Jarvis, give me everything important. Something portable, please, since Pepper is determined to leave.”

‘ _Of course, sir_.’

Tony rocked the chair back and forth for a bit before leaning forward again. “I don’t know why you’re still hanging around here,” he said finally. “Come to see how far I’ve fallen, then? Laugh about the state I’m in?”

Sure enough, the air around him seemed to shift. “Is it that hard to believe that I just want to make sure you are well enough for the task at hand?”

“I’ve gotten out of worse scrapes.” Tony closed his eyes, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

“Yes, but not something quite like this.” Loki stepped closer and waved a hand, the papers disappearing. “How many times must I apologize to you?”

Tony ignored him and pushed away from his desk. “Did you get everything, Jay?”

‘ _Yes, sir. Uploaded and ready for your use_.’

“Thanks.” Tony grabbed his Mark V and went upstairs to where Pepper looked to be stuffing something else in one of the suitcases. “Pepper? Do you have any idea where this safehouse might be?” he asked before he even made it all the way up.

“Not yet, they just-- oh. Loki, hi.” She finished zipping up the suitcases. “Are you here to help?”

“I am making the attempt. However, I find that my efforts might be wasted.” Loki offered Pepper a smile (that bastard – he always looked good with that smile). “I may have enjoyed him better when he was sleeping.”

“There are times when I feel the same.” She shrugged, patting Tony’s arm as he passed her. “But he’ll come around.”

“' _He_ ' is right here.” Tony put the suit by the pile of suitcases Pepper had packed. “How far out is SHIELD?”

“They’re—“

“Oh _damn_ you, Stark.” Loki stepped forward, interrupting Pepper and staring out the large array of windows that looked over the bay. “Not close enough...”

“What?” Tony and Pepper both looked toward the window just in time to see the missile coming.

“Get down!”

The explosion brought too many flashbacks of Afghanistan for Tony to realize what the hell was going on at first. He struggled against the hold on his arms, mouth open to scream with no noise coming out. Someone called his name and he felt the cry tear out of his throat right before a sharp sting on his face pulled Tony from the nightmare of his mind.

“..ny! Anthony, we must go!”

Loki. Loki knelt over him, holding up a piece of Tony’s own ceiling. Frantic, Tony looked around and saw the rubble that his house was becoming - and the missiles didn’t seem to be finished yet.

“I am not strong enough to defend this house yet, so _we must go_!”

Pepper... “Pepper?” Tony looked around and shared a look with a terrified (but alive, thank god) Pepper. “Pep...”

“Anthony focus!”

Right, focus. Tony sucked in a breath and turned back to Loki, determined. “If you’re even half as sorry as you say you are, get her out of here first!”

Loki looked as if he were going to argue until another missile screamed past both of their heads. Almost immediately after that, Loki rolled off of him and disappeared with Pepper. Just in time, too - the floor beneath where Pepper had just been crumbled into the garage beneath them. Tony wasn’t sure how much power Loki had, or where he was taking Pepper, but he couldn’t count on being rescued himself. He turned to his side and reached out for the Mark V, glad that it was in reach.

The suitcase popped open and Tony got one hand inside before more of the ceiling fell on top of him. He put his other hand up, trying to protect his head as much as possible. It didn’t work - he groaned as a piece struck him, vision dizzy.

The last thing he remembered was hands gripping onto his shirt and someone screaming his name. Then, before he could smile and reply, everything went black.

* * *

The bed wasn’t as comfortable as he expected. Tony blinked open his eyes and slowly glanced around, taking in the unfamiliar room. It was a hotel, he knew that, but where? What happened? And was Loki just in... Yes, Loki was sleeping in a chair wearing only what looked to be sweat pants. Tony smiled softly at the sight and turned over, reaching a hand out to him.

“Loki?”

The other man jerked awake, eyes widening as he saw Tony. “You’re awake?”

“Am I not supposed to be?” He grinned, trying to look as sexy as one could while under heavy hotel blankets. “I mean, we are in a hotel...”

“Anthony--”

“And... prom, yes.” Because in what other scenario could he be alone with Loki in a hotel? “I thought you said taking advantage of me on prom night was cheap.”

Loki’s face grew sad, something Tony hadn’t ever seen before. He lost some of his confidence at the look, but then figured maybe it was because Loki truly believed that Tony had been taken advantage of? No - no way, he had to change his mind. He reached out for Loki’s hand.

“I was kidding. You could never take advantage--”

“This isn’t prom night,” Loki interrupted as he pulled his hand away, his voice sharp.  “This isn’t... you aren’t in the dream, Anthony. Miss Potts simply left to make sure you had something to eat when you woke up.”

Miss Potts had... Pepper. Pepper, the house, the missiles - shit. Tony groaned and pulled the covers over his head. “Stop.” He didn’t want to remember _any_ of that.

“I haven’t done--”

“Please go.” He couldn’t even keep the situations straight. Even after his own house had been attacked. What the _hell_ was wrong with him? “Please just go.”

A rustling of fabric, then Loki’s hand came down on his shoulder. Tony flinched, even if there were a few layers between them. All he really wanted to do was reach out and pull Loki closer, but he knew he couldn’t. He hated Loki (no, he _loved_ Loki – no) and he wasn’t supposed to want him (he _wanted_ him).

“I’ll go,” Loki told him quietly. “Your information is beside you on the desk for when you wish to look at it. I would do so soon - the Mandarin is moving and angry that you disappeared.”

“And who made me disappear?”

Loki didn’t answer and Tony curled himself into the tightest ball that he could, not moving even after he heard the door open and Pepper’s voice drift through the room, calling for Loki before she called for him.

He wished it had been prom night.

* * *

 

Pepper sat with him as the day turned into night, reading the papers and offering her own opinions on the situation. He hadn’t touched the food she brought and it had long since stopped smelling like anything remotely edible. Thankfully, she hadn’t asked about Loki - Tony wasn’t sure what he would have told her anyway about the situation. He realized it was all fake and was disappointed? Felt betrayed? Wanted nothing more than to settle himself in Loki’s lap and pretend they spent the last few decades together?

His phone vibrated and the screen lit up. ‘ _Sir_ ,’ Jarvis said through the speakers, thankfully breaking him out of his thoughts. ‘ _The War Machine armor has been compromised_.’

Tony sat up, dislodging some of Pepper’s papers as he did so - not that she seemed to notice. “What happened?”

‘ _It seems as though War Machine was assigned to finding the Mandarin in the Middle East. During one check, he was overtaken by a few of the Mandarin’s employees_.’

Tony highly doubted that the Mandarin paid whoever was working for him, but that was another matter. Usually people like that were getting something, sure, but it wasn’t money.  “Where is he now?”

Jarvis paused almost long enough for Tony to want to grab his phone and shake it. Before he could do such a thing, Jarvis put up the current coordinates of the War Machine armor. ‘ _He is en route toward the United States. His flight pattern indicates he will continue further the south_.’

“Great, okay.”  Tony got up and grabbed the suitcase.  “Where are we exactly?”

“Loki originally brought us to one of your family houses in the Carolinas, but I told him that was too dangerous. We’re in Georgia right now.” Pepper piled the papers together. “We should call him back so he can--”

“No. No, we can do this ourselves.” Tony picked up one of the papers and frowned on it. “This looks like a rehabilitation form. What...”

“Jarvis took a look at the scene where Happy...” Pepper took a breath. “Where Happy was hurt. He seemed to be pointing toward something and Loki went back to find dog tags. They belonged to this man.”

Tony flipped the paper, reading the header.  The name sounded familiar. “AIM? Isn’t that the company messing up War Machine?”

“Yes, but I think they might have something to do with what’s going on. The CEO came to see me a few days before you woke up, said he had something amazing to show me. I told him I had to run it through you first.” Pepper zipped up a bag. “From what I’ve read, he’s screwing around with something he shouldn’t be. Loki went to see what’s going on at his headquarters.”

“Why is _he_ so willing to help?”

“Explaining that would take more time than we have because you don’t seem to want to listen.” Okay, so maybe he deserved some of the bite in her voice. “Can you please trust me for once?”

That got Tony to look up at her. “Pep...”

“I’m serious, Tony. I’ve trusted you since the moment I took this job, but you don’t seem to--”

“You’re all I have, remember?” Tony moved close enough to grasp her shoulders. “You were here before Loki, before the Avengers. Hell, Pepper, you were here before Iron Man. There’s no one I trust more than you.”

She took his hands in her own and squeezed softly. “Then trust me when I say that he is only trying to help.”

That was the last thing Tony wanted to do, but he had to start trusting somewhere, and there was no better place than with Pepper.  “Okay.”

They packed quietly after that, piling their bags by the door and just keeping the box of information open. Tony helped her go through the rest of the AIM files and hated his chances of getting far in this fight alone. Maybe Cap would be available? Or Clint or... hell, Tony had no idea anymore. Would they even help him if he asked? Clint had seemed willing in California, but Tony pretty much told him to fuck off, so who knew if he’d be open to it now. Maybe Natasha if she were back from whatever mission she had been sent on?

“Pepper, you think the others would be open to helping?”

She shot him a look. “Jarvis, can you put out a call?”

‘ _Certainly, Miss Potts._ ’

“You’re an idiot,” she said, voice quiet. “The only thing they want to do right now is help you. You’re a team now, remember?”

Tony wasn’t sure what to think about that - he couldn’t remember the last time that many people wanted to help him with something that he had to do. He stayed quiet as she checked the phone for updates on who was available (Tony didn’t ask who). It wasn’t long before she stuffed the phone in her back pocket and gave Tony a relieved smile.

“Clint and Steve are coming to pick you up in the jet. Once here, the next stop is Miami.”

“Miami? I know I need a vacation, but--”

“That’s where the War Machine suit is headed.”

Tony shut his mouth and nodded. “Sounds good. Do me a favor?”

She narrowed her eyes. “Anthony Edward Stark, if you’re about to ask me to stay here--”

“Please. It’s safer for you here.”

“No!  I’m going with you, end of story.” She crossed her arms. “I am not some woman you leave behind every time you go off to save the world or something.”

She never had been, either. Hell, Tony wasn’t sure he would have survived Obie without her by his side. But... “I have nothing to protect you with.”

“Oh, Tony...” Pepper cupped his face. “You’re Iron Man for god’s sake. You always have been, suit or not. You already know how you’ll not only protect me, but take care of this. I believe in you.”

And somehow, that gave Tony an idea.

* * *

Clint picked up the package of Christmas balls and frowned. “Tony, do you mind explaining why we’re here?”

“I thought I already explained. Big Bad Orange is after me, as you know, and he has Rhodey and I--”

“Need an alternative to the suit because it was damaged a bit,” Clint interrupted. “I know, but... these?” This time, he held up one of those 'As Seen on TV' oven mitts.

Tony slapped the package out of his hands so it fell back into the shopping cart. They were at the closest hardware store Jarvis could find, the jet parked in the trees a bit away so it wouldn’t draw attention. Though he knew how to do it, Tony had never hotwired a car until about an hour ago when they came across a small diner (liar, he had done it plenty of times – before going to high school with Loki). He made sure to take one of the worker’s cars, confident that they would be able to return it before that person’s shift ended.

“You need to relax and trust me.” Tony picked up another gallon of pesticide. “I know that might be an issue because the same mad man got to play with our heads, but--”

“Loki wasn’t so bad.” Clint grabbed a funnel and tossed it into the cart. “I mean, yeah not being able to control myself was hell, but he actually helped ease it. We had orders and were like puppets carrying them out, but if there was something one of us really wouldn’t be able to handle doing? That was all him.”

None of that made sense ( _yes it did_ ). “The helicarrier?”

“Mostly him. He knew going in that I wouldn’t be able to shoot any of them, but I was needed on that mission because he wanted to give me back. My task was done.”

“You were the only SHIELD agent in that party, weren’t you?” Despite the fact that he was supposed to be angry with Loki, Tony couldn’t help the swell of pride in him.

“I was.” Clint shrugged. “We got there and he pushed into my mind and told me that when I woke up, I would be free. I honestly can’t remember a damn thing that happened after I fired that first arrow.”

Tony had nothing to say to that, not sure if he could say anything to it. Really, he just wanted to see Loki and apologize. That was pretty decent of him.

“I’m just saying that Loki’s got layers, kind of like Shrek and onions. Give him a shot.” Clint picked up a hat with the elf ears on it. “He’s more than the front he puts out, kind of like you. Do I look good in this?”

Tony laughed a bit and tossed another set of ornament balls into the cart. “No, you look ridiculous. And we’ll see about Loki. Right now, I just want to get Rhodey back and then go back to my life.”

“Sure thing, boss.”  Clint tossed Tony a Santa hat. “Can we wear these while going in?”

Tony laughed and pushed the cart forward. “Toss one in for Captain Tight Pants. Can’t hurt to be festive.”

He grabbed a pair of reindeer antlers for Loki as well.

* * *

 

Steve hadn’t been happy to stay behind, even after Clint presented him with the Santa hat, but Tony bet on his protective buttons and managed to convince Steve that Pepper really needed to stay out of the fray. Granted, when Pepper heard of this new plan she wasn’t all that happy, but since he didn't exactly want her running into a building full of possible terrorists, getting Cap involved seemed the better alternative. So with Clint beside him, armed with their makeshift artillery, Tony headed into some kind of Miami mansion.

Tony definitely didn’t want to tell Clint that he wasn’t sure if all this homemade stuff would work, but he was sure Clint knew anyway because the archer definitely had his bow and arrows. Tony also spied a slingshot in his back pocket and he had to grin - of course he’d have that. Hell, Tony kind of wanted one.

They worked silently together, bringing down the guards outside the house. Tony would distract them with one of his decorations and then, almost as a seamless unit, Clint would take one down with an arrow while Tony knocked another in the face. Three checkpoints in and no alarm yet -- not even when Tony tossed one of the Christmas Ball Grenades into the fountain. Clint had given him a dirty look for that one, but Tony hadn’t cared -- he just shrugged and kept walking.

Since neither one of them knew where the Mandarin was hiding out, they decided to just go through the first main door they came across. Clint slipped inside first, flashing back what Tony originally thought was a peace sign. Two smooth draws from Clint’s bow later and Tony realized that it wasn’t a stupid sign, just Clint telling him how many people were in the room.

Well, how many enemies. There was still a girl half gone from drugs or alcohol (or both) on the couch.  Tony tried not to pay too much attention to her as he took the now-dead guard’s gun. Clint eyed the weapon and waited until Tony had checked to make sure it was loaded before he nodded and brought them further into the house.

For a terrorist, there wasn’t a lot of security.  Every step made Tony feel as if there was an ambush waiting behind the next door, or the next. When Clint opened doors and flashed him a “zero” with his fingers, Tony almost wanted to check after him to make sure it was true. He forced the urge down, trusting that Clint wouldn’t walk him into a trap.

The last room looked to be a bedroom and there was a human-shaped lump in the bed. Tony raised the gun and approached slowly, trying to be quiet as his heart raced. This was it, it had to be. Despite the lack of guards and general quietness of the mansion, the Mandarin had to be in here. Tony recognized the robe hanging over a chair and the small television-like set up in the corner.

Clint stood on one side of the bed while Tony took the other. Bow raised, Clint nodded and then Tony jerked the sheets back to reveal not one, but two bodies there. And unless the Mandarin suddenly became a woman, this was the wrong place. He held back a swear and motioned for the girls to be silent. Clint motioned him behind the headboard as they heard a toilet flush, but Tony wasn’t fast enough.

He turned as a man waddled out of the bathroom, which was strange because he wasn’t any kind of heavy set. He had never seen a fit man waddle until now and it threw him off enough that he just stood there dumbly.

“Whatever you do,” the man said, his voice thick with an accent that was nothing like the Mandarin's, “do not go in-- Oh. Hello.”  He paused when he saw Tony’s gun and his hands instantly went up. “Bloody hell. Ah… want something, take it. Though.. the guns are all fake because those wankers wouldn’t trust me with the real ones.

Tony opened and closed his mouth like an idiot, trying to find words. In the end, the only thing he could get out was, “Are you kidding me?”

Thankfully Clint stepped out from his hiding spot at that point, an arrow aimed directly at the man’s heart. “Start talking. Ladies, if you’ll excuse us?”

The two women scrambled out of bed, knocking a bit into Tony as they left. Tony shook his head, the situation finally catching up to him, and raised his gun on the still-surprised bum of a man. “Who the hell are you? You’re not the Mandarin. Where’s the Mandarin!”

The man jerked toward a chair. “Woah, woah!

“Tony, relax…” Clint moved with the man, keeping an arrow on him.

The man sat in a chair, blinking a bit before he looked between the two of them. “He’s here, but he’s not here.”

Tony pushed the gun closer to him, frustrated. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It’s compli—“ The man paused, his demeanor shifting to attempt to be more intimidating. It wasn’t. “It’s complicated.”

“Un-complicate it,” Clint demanded, pulling the string back. “Ten seconds.”

“My name’s Trevor. Trevor Slattery.”

“Who?”

“Shit.”  Clint stepped around the bed. “Are you a decoy? A double?”

Trevor stared at them. “What? No, I haven’t studied that.”

Tony narrowed his eyes.  “What the hell is going on?”

Trevor held up his hands as both weapons came closer. “Don’t hurt the face! Not the face, _please_. I’m an act _or_.”

Clint glanced toward Tony. “Hey… _Hey_ cool it down, we—“

Tony ignored him and stepped even closer, putting the gun barrel against Trevor’s head. “An actor? A god damned _actor_?”

Trevor grinned. “Well yes. This whole thing, the _Mandarin_ , it’s not real. Green screens and scripts and costumes. My good man Killian helped me get the job!” He reached a hand over to grab a remote. Behind them, a TV turned on with some kind of soccer game. “It’s a grand thing, really. Best gig I’ve had!”

Tony pressed the gun further against the imposter’s head. “You... you... Fuck! Fuck you!”

“Tony, put the gun down.”  Clint had put his bow on the ground and approached from the side, hands up. “Come on, he isn’t worth it.”

“Why can’t something just be straightforward for once? Come on!”

“Tony.” Clint reached a hand out to rest it against his shaking arm. “Come on, man, we know this isn’t the real Mandarin, but we can probably track him now. We have a name - Killian. Let’s go.”

But all Tony could see was another false dream in front of him. What if he was still dreaming? There was a movie like that once, right? Inception? Dream within a dream?  None of this could be real and Loki being nice wasn’t real and neither was this fucked up life where he woke up wanting to scream because he was too old or the bed was too comfortable or uncomfortable (when it should have been perfect).  He wanted to go home, but where was home? What could he even call home anymore?

“Tony...”

Real or not, Tony’s hand shook too much for him to think properly. He stared down at Trevor, knew that Clint was right and he should give this up. Call the cops or something.

When the gun went off at Trevor’s sudden cheering to the soccer game on the television, Tony at first didn’t realize what had happened. His mind caught up slowly to the fact that there was too much red. Too much coming from Trevor and the drunken man’s face had a hole where there shouldn’t one. He sucked in a breath (or tried to) and stumbled back.

As soon as his back hit Clint’s arms, he fell to the floor, arms wrapped around himself.  Clint was talking ( _yelling_ ), but he couldn’t move. He couldn’t breathe.

Clint got in his face and Tony failed to hold in a sob because this wasn’t Hawkeye Clint. This was nerdy archer from school Clint. Tony saw himself getting locked in a headlock before being teased about his boyfriend. He wasn’t sure what sound came from him, but whatever it was caused Clint to panic and desperately shout something.

Then, almost immediately, soothing arms came around him. Tony buried himself into the embrace, pressing his ear against the other’s chest so he could hear the steady heartbeat. The rapidness of it soon calmed and Tony shut his eyes, willing himself to breath alongside the person who could only be Loki.

Of course.

Feeling like a child again, Tony let the tears come this time. He sobbed into Loki’s chest, letting the god stroke his hair wordlessly.

“Stay,” Tony choked out. “I can’t do this anymore.” From the tightening of the arms around him, he knew his message was heard.

“We need to find Rhodes,” Clint said, voice soft as if he was trying not to disturb them. “He could be anywhere.”

“I was just there and he is fine.” Tony heard Loki’s voice rumble through the chest still pressed against his ear and he squeezed his eyes tighter. He couldn’t kid himself any more – he wasn’t okay. “They have taken the armor from him, but I did manage to get him out while trying to destroy those that would dare take him.”  Loki slipped a hand into Tony’s hair, grounding him further.  “He is waiting outside for us so that we may go back to the Captain and Miss Potts.”

“Then what are we waiting for?  We can send someone to take care of the mess here. Let’s go.”

Reluctantly, Tony let go of Loki’s shirt and took a step back. “Hopefully they didn’t shut off the suit’s tracking.”

Loki’s hand lingered on Tony’s cheek for just a second longer than was probably necessary; Tony missed it as soon as Loki’s arm dropped. “Let us go back and see, then. The Captain and Miss Potts are still waiting for you, I believe.”

“Probably still mad at me for making them stay behind, but yeah.”  Tony gave both Loki and Clint a weak smile. “Let’s go.”

* * *

They found Steve face down in the grass outside the jet, Pepper not in sight.  Tony felt his panic come back, but before he could lose himself to it, Loki’s hand came to rest on his mid-back.  Tony eased into the hand, taking whatever warmth and comfort that would come from it, while Rhodey bent down to check on Steve.

“He’s breathing,” he said, fingers resting on the pulse. “Probably just knocked out. Looks like some slight burn marks here, but the dude can breathe fire, so...”

Clint ran down the ramp. “He melted the panel, so we’re not getting out of here with that. We can still communicate with it, but she won’t fly.”

“We’ll figure it out.” Rhodey looked up to Clint. “Can we check the tracking of my suit still?”

“Let’s just get the Captain off the grass,” Loki suggested. “Anthony, Miss Potts has your suit still, yes? In case they managed to turn off the other one.”

“The tracking device, yeah hold on. I don’t see why they wouldn’t keep it.” Tony reached for his phone. “Can you get Cap?”

“Of course.” Loki pressed his hand against Tony’s back a bit more before backing away and picking Steve up and carrying him over his shoulder. “Let us go.”

Clint patted Tony’s shoulder before following Loki. “Come on, we’ll get her back. She still owes me a round of Duck Hunt.”

“Funny. Really, though, she’ll kick your ass,” Tony warned.

“Looking forward to it.” Clint gave Tony a thumbs up before disappearing into the jet.

Rhodey pushed Tony forward to follow the others. “Hanging in there?”

No, but Tony knew there wasn’t any reason for the others to worry about him right now.  They had bigger things to deal with. “I shot the decoy.  They had... The guy on the TV was an actor. A fake.”

“We are definitely going to talk about this later, okay? Because this entire situation is messed up and you’re probably not even as grounded as you’d like to be.” Rhodey squeezed Tony’s shoulder. “But after we take care of this.”

Tony sat down and watched as Loki and Clint worked together to get Steve patched up. “I think I want to go back.”

Rhodey took the phone out of Tony’s hand before settling next to him. “To California? Or to the dream he created?”

“The second one. Is that a bad thing?”

“No, of course not.” Rhodey set the phone aside. “He fought against SHIELD for a long time, said you weren’t ready to wake up. Said you were still dreaming of the void and until you stopped, it was dangerous to wake you.”

“I wanted to be an astronaut because space looked so beautiful.” Tony frowned. “He told me Americans weren’t allowed because we didn’t win the race to the moon.”

“Ah.” Rhodey laughed a bit. “Cap had just learned about the moon landing. That was his idea. Said it was a race and we won, but Loki would twist it around.”

Tony wrinkled his nose. “That is the most…”

“I know, I know. Natasha-“

“So we’re all on a first-name basis now?”

“-set him straight, but Loki had already told you the lie.” The phone beeped and Rhodey grabbed it. “Not sure what his plan past… Oh, that’s not good.”

“What’s not good?” Tony leaned over to see the coordinates of Rhodey’s suit as well as his own. “What’s not good?”

Rhodey handed the phone to Clint as the other came up. “It’s headed toward the same coordinates they sent me before I was taken.”

“Which is?”

“Air Force One. I was on my way to escort the president.”

“Shit.” Clint tossed Rhodey the phone and went to the cockpit. “I’ll see if we can get another jet here.”

“There’s no time.” Rhodey looked up to Loki. “How are you feeling? And Cap?”

“The Captain has a migraine it seems, but he should be fine. I am… well enough. Where is this Force?” He stepped close enough that he could run a hand through Tony’s hair. “And where is Anthony’s suit with Miss Potts?”

‘ _The Mark V’s connection has been cut in Miami. However, I have calculated a possible location of both Miss Potts and the Iron Man suit._ ’

“Thanks, Jarvis.”  Rhodey handed the phone to Loki. “Go to these coordinates and find the plane. I’ll take the others to Miami.”

“You mean I will?” Clint turned in the chair, grinning.  “Got us an incoming jet.”

Loki caught Tony’s eye for a moment before facing Rhodey, face serious. “You will watch out for him and if I return to find him injured, I will—“

“You don’t need to threaten me.”  Rhodey crossed his arms, holding his ground. “He was my best friend long before he got on your radar.”

Loki’s lips quirked. “And so he was.”  With one last look to Tony, he was gone.

Tony let out a breath. “Always wanted to go to Miami.”

* * *

Like all plans they had lately, this was one pretty stupid, but Tony was tired of playing games. He had people he could trust and he just wanted this thing over. The mission was find Pepper, save Pepper, find this Killian (the name seemed awfully familiar), and take the bastard down. Easy, no problem.

“We shouldn’t be flying the jet right into this,” Rhodey said for the third time. “We need to try for an element of surprise.”

“A bunch of people jumping out of a jet isn’t surprise enough?” Tony asked, checking over the guns they had. He ignored the way his hands still shook.

“Only because we don’t know how many idiots they have working for them. How many more of them can breathe fire?”

“And the only suits you have are the ones on site.  That’s the Mark V, right?”  Steve stuck the shield on his back. “That doesn’t give us much.”

“And we don’t even know if the Mark V is working. Just that it’s there.”

Tony grabbed a parachute. “Thanks for the reminder, Rhodey. It’s going to have to be enough. Any word on Loki?”

“The plane went down, but it looks as though there were only one or two casualties. The President and Iron Patriot--"

“War Machine,” both Tony and Rhodey corrected Clint.

“Sorry, just reading reports.” He shook his head. “Anyway, they’re both missing. No sign of Loki around, but he might need to recover some of his magic before he joins us.”

“I've merely been waiting for you, actually.”

They all turned when Loki materialized next to Tony.  Clint snorted and focused back on flying the jet while Tony leaned into the man next to him, taking comfort in his presence.

“What took you so long?” he asked.

Loki ran his fingers through Tony’s hair once. “I followed the War Machine to, thankfully, where you’re going anyway. Your leader is within it and I’m not sure what they plan to do, but we need to act quickly.”

“And Pepper?”

“Whatever process is being done on the soldiers here, it has been done on her. She survived, but only just.”  Loki let his hand drop. “I am sorry.”

“It’s not your fault,” Steve said. “Let’s just get her and take care of this before it escalates.”

“So what’s the plan, Cap?”

So, yeah, it was a stupid plan, but nothing Tony came up with ever really went to plan, so he should have known better than to focus so much on this one.  It started out fine – Rhodey got to the President and the suit no problem. Loki managed to get the man away from the battle that started with little trouble and that was the last time Tony saw him.

It was not a fun time.

Clint tried to stay perched on the highest point – first in the jet, and then at the highest mast of the tanker ship when shooting out of the jet’s gun became too hard to do between the rest of them.  Tony only knew he was still alive by the occasional arrow that showed up in the eye of someone he was fighting.

It took way too long to find Pepper. Tony saluted in the direction of where the last arrow came from before checking yet another office-looking place on the high rises. As soon as he stepped inside, though, he saw her there. Tired, obvious tear tracks on her face, but looking somehow at peace.  He thanked whatever gods that were listening that she was still breathing.

“Pepper?” He looked around the room, making sure it was otherwise empty, before running to her.  “Pepper!”

“Tony?”  Pepper turned her head. “Oh god, Tony _no_.”

“Why do you always say that?”  Tony reached for the straps around her.  “It’s okay, we’re here and we’re—“

“Exactly where I want you to be.”

Tony jerked around at the voice, but he didn’t recognize the man it belonged to. “And you are…?”

The man smirked and held out his hand. “Killian. It's nice to finally meet you again. I’m glad you’re here to see our live product testing.”

Tony let the hand hang there. “Product testing. You mean of this?”

“One of many.”  Killian reached into the pocket of his three-piece suit and brought out a name tag that read ‘You know who I am.’ Tony actually recognized it from some drunken New Years Eve party he went to (except it took place last year in high school and Loki teased him for the name tag for hours, right? No). “Got the idea from you.”

“That’s… That was for Loki, no. For Maya?”

Killian sighed and wandered over to a desk on the other side of Pepper. “Ah, an unfortunately colleague of mine. She was... let go recently. Didn’t fully believe I was right in trying to recruit you.”

“Which part? The actual recruiting or the how you’re doing it?”

“You can still make a joke, I like that.”  Killian leaned closer to Pepper. “Don’t you want to test her?”

Tony raised his gun.  “Get away from her.”

“Take her out for a test drive? See what kind of… _potential_ she has?”

If this was the guy who could breathe fire, Tony doubted this would work, but he just wanted the dick to get away from Pepper.  He raised the gun higher and shot him until the clip emptied. Killian jerked back with every bullet that hit him until he hit the wall, groaning.

“I wouldn’t have done that if I were you, Tony…”

Tony already had the last few straps undone. “Yeah, been told that before.”

“No, I really…”

“Pepper, _run_!”

Yes, this was the fire man.  Tony ducked, pulling Pepper with him, as Killian roared and spewed fire at them.  When he paused for a break, Tony pushed Pepper toward the door and they both crawled out of it and into chaos.

Loki was definitely back from taking the President away – Tony could see marks of his magic everywhere.  He wished he had time to look for the man, but that would come later – once he and Pepper were on the ground.

“I would have been fine,” Pepper insisted as they found a staircase.

“Don’t start right now.”  Tony grabbed a gun from a dead goon, glad that it was loaded. “We need to get you out of—“

“Let me help.”

Tony paused on the next landing and looked at her. “Pepper—“

“No, Tony.”  Pepper looked at her arms, frowning at the red running through them. “Let me do this. For you.”

An explosion went off above them and really, what choice did he have?  Tony pulled her along the stairs so they could get to the ground, knowing that she would take his silence as an answer.  He couldn’t stop her – didn’t _want_ to stop her – and she deserved her own shot at getting back at the asshole.

The asshole who just landed right in front of them, skin almost completely fire orange.  “Now that wasn’t very nice.”

“I don’t play nice anymore.”  Tony raised his new gun. “Especially when people like you piss me off.”

Killian actually looked upset by that. “I pissed you off? Oh, well I’m sorry about that.”

“Oh, this is such bullshit,” Pepper said.

“Is it really?” Killian asked, opening his arms. “Come, now. I heard you wanted to find out who the Mandarin was, Tony.  Work with me and I can tell you.”

Tony shot him again, not caring that it wouldn’t affect him. It just made him feel better. “Offer not accepted.”

Killian shook his head, then narrowed his eyes at Tony.  “This was supposed to go differently. You were not supposed to die.”

He sucked in a breath, but before he could get enough of whatever he needed to get, Pepper came from behind Tony with a pipe and smacked Killian across the face.  Killian flew off to the side and Tony’s eyes widened at the strength.

“That was unexpected…”

Pepper just smirked and went after Killian again, her body flickering with what looked like fire beneath her skin.  He was seriously going to have to try harder not to piss her off in the future.

He didn’t bother trying to keep up with their fight, only made sure to fire at anybody attempting to interrupt it – though it was only two crazy people and they were both also taken down by a stray arrow in the back of their necks. They didn’t get up like the others Tony had seen, so Clint must have found some kind of weakness there.

Something exploded above them and Tony got down, covering his head with his arms, and ducked behind a shipping crate. Which was probably smart considering what exploded was some kind of ammunition holding area – the ground where he had been standing was now covered in shells.  He recognized them, too – they were ones that Justin Hammer had before he went off to prison. They were highly unstable and… and he could use that.

“Pepper!”  He grabbed one.  “Pepper, use this!”

She looked over just in time to catch the shell and then dodge another punch from Killian. She rolled out of the way before turning and shoving the shell directly into Killian’s chest. His eyes went wide and he stumbled, arms reaching out to Pepper as she shoved him back.

“Come back from this, asshole,” she said, and then grabbed a nearby gun to shoot the shell in Killian’s chest.

Tony covered his eyes as the world around them exploded in fire and ash.  Something hot grabbed his arm and he only realized it was Pepper once they were falling into the water surrounding the burning docks.  Tony struggled to the surface, gasping for air once he broke it.  Thankfully it didn’t take that long to drag himself to a relatively undamaged dock and pull himself up onto the dry surface.

Pepper got up next to him, steam rising from her arms as the heat from her body made the water evaporate.  She stared at the burning dock for a long moment before gasping, stumbling back a few steps.  “Oh my god… That was really violent,” Pepper said before looking down at the red still flowing through her veins. “Oh _hell_ , that was really…”

“Pepper…?”

All it took was one look before the situation fully caught up with him.  Tony sucked in a breath, pulling his knees to his chest, and tried to focus on breathing evenly. It wasn’t working all that well, but he had to try.  He barely heard Pepper above him, asking him something that he couldn’t comprehend.

Then she was in front of him, tugging on his hair sharply so he was forced to look up and pay attention. “Focus, Tony.” Just like Loki – he probably told her.  “Hey…”

Tony reached out and grabbed onto her arm, ignoring the heat that radiated off of her. “Pepper, I—“

“Shh, as long as you’re here with us. You’re here, right?” Pepper leaned her forehead against Tony’s. “Tony, please.”

“I’m here.” He thought, at least. “But Pep, I—“

“Anthony!”

They both looked over and Tony had to bite back a laugh as Loki rushed forward, sending what looked to be a lazy spark of magic to down a twitching fighter of Killian’s. The green and black leather looked partially scorched, but otherwise Loki looked fine. Behind him came Clint and Steve, but Tony couldn’t see Rhodey yet.

“Anthony, are you well? Are you hurt too badly?” Pepper moved so Loki could take his place, running his hands over Tony’s body to check all of his injuries and soothe some of the pain. “I’m sorry, I didn’t stay with you. There—“

“Loki, quiet.”  Tony closed his eyes and leaned against him. “Rhodey?”

“Making sure the President is okay,” Clint said.

Tony opened his eyes to look at Steve and Clint. “Are you okay?”

Clint gave him a thumbs up as Steve nodded and said, “Exhausted and maybe burned a bit, but fine.  SHIELD should be here soon, by the way. They—“

“I don’t want to be here when that happens. Can we go?” Tony pushed back from Loki a bit. “I’ve got a house in Florida, right?”

“A summer home we’ve never used, yes,” Pepper agreed. “It should be close enough.”

“Let’s go there.”  Tony stood with Loki’s help. “I just… let’s go there.”

* * *

They got to the house late enough that the sun had already started to pierce the sky around them. Loki eased the door open so Tony could lead an exhausted Pepper inside and to the nearest guest bedroom. She needed rest, Tony needed to fix her, and there was the press and SHIELD and… no. He couldn’t do this right now.

“I’m not an invalid,” Pepper said once they got into the room.

“I know.”  Tony let her go so she could climb into the bed. “I like taking care of you. It’s like returning the favor.”

“You have a lifetime ahead of you if you try that.”  Pepper pulled the covers over herself, then reached out to take Tony’s hand. “Just relax.”

Soon he could relax, but not now. “We’ll get you fixed,” Tony promised, pressing a kiss to Pepper’s hand. “I swear to you, I will make sure you recover from what that asshole did to you.”

Pepper squeezed his hand. “And then you?”

“Yes, and then me.”  He leaned over, pressing a kiss to her forehead. “Thank you.”

“Tony Stark, don’t you start getting sentimental on me.”

He laughed, feeling a weight lift off his shoulders. “Never, Pepper.”

She smiled, settling back. “Will that be all, Mister Stark?”

“That will be all, Miss Potts.”

Tony ran a hand through Pepper’s hair before leaving the bed so she could sleep. Once outside the door, he looked down the hall to see Loki and he gave the other a small smile.  Maybe... Yeah, this would have to do. Tony pushed away from Pepper’s door and went straight into Loki’s arms, taking a deep breath to relax himself. This was where he wanted to be, nowhere else. And really, there was only one place where he could properly do that.

“Once I fix Pepper, I need a favor.”

“Oh?” Loki trailed his fingers through Tony’s hair.  “What favor would that be?”

“I’ll tell you later.” Tony pulled back just enough so he could tilt his head up.  “But right now...”

Loki looked down to him. “What is it?”

Tony’s answer was to kiss him, slow and exactly how he remembered their first kiss to be. Loki’s response was soft, but his hold possessive. Safe. Tony felt safe. He held tighter to Loki’s shirt, whimpering when the kiss broke.

“Are you sure--”

“Yes, damn it, I’m sure.”

They didn’t do more than kiss that night, but Loki did stay.  He slept curled around Tony, protecting him even from the dreams that threatened to plague him.  Tony watched Loki sleep for a long time before closing his eyes himself. He would fix Pepper tomorrow. Then, after that, he could be free to do as he pleased.

Tony fell asleep with a smile on his face.

* * *

_Anyone up late last night in the Miami, Florida area got quite a show as a massive battle between Tony Stark and the Mandarin took place.  While Stark Industries has already put forth a clean-up effort, a true recovery from the damage caused could take weeks, if not months, to complete. The water is full of wreckage from what some are calling the showdown of the century._

_Pepper Potts, CEO of Stark Industries, will give a statement later today breaking down the clean up efforts. Tune in later tonight at our eleven o’clock broadcast to receive all the highlights._

Static. Scratching. A brief tone. The broadcast continues.

_...the damage caused two months ago at the docks are being blamed on local area gangs.  There were several explosions and police were instructed to stay away from the scene, if only to keep themselves safe until tensions eased.  Three people are still in custody and the body count has reached sixteen after the last victim died from his wounds.  The area is still quarantined off while officers fully investigate the cause of this outbreak of violence. Residents are scrambling to find funds to help the affected area and are reaching out nationally so their ports won’t suffer from this devastating attack._

_Join us for our evening broadcast to get more information of this developing story._

Loki shut off the radio and leaned back in his seat.  “Gang fights, right?”

Tony shrugged and tossed the finished rubix cube into the backseat of the car.  “Miami is famous for them.”  He shifted so he could rest his head in Loki’s lap.  “Do we have to go in?”

“It is our prom.”  Loki trailed his fingers through Tony’s hair.  “Clint and Laura will be there.  I believe Happy came back from his internship to bring Pepper.”

“What about Bruce? Did you convince him to come? That guy won’t listen to me anymore.”

“I did.”  He leaned over, giving Tony a gentle kiss.  “Don’t worry, they’re all there.”

“Good.”  Tony gave him a deeper kiss before getting up and letting Loki lead him into prom.

That night, after Loki took him home to their shared apartment and tucked him into bed, Tony dreamed of ruined men and fire.

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> LINK TO ART: http://cepheidon.tumblr.com/post/132904923584/here-is-my-art-for-mortenavidas-amazing-big
> 
> This was super fun to write! Hope you enjoyed. :)


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